Stars and Sparks
by Illogically
Summary: SG-1's assignment leads them to a beautiful, uninhabited planet. But they're not alone for long, and the ones that show up bring an age-old war with them... SG-1/Transformers crossover.
1. prologue

Quick note: I write _slow_. This is an idea I've had for a while, but this is the first chance I've had to actually write it out. However, with Real Life stuff getting in the way, I won't be able to guarantee when any updates will come, just that they will. This is the first full-length story I've attempted, as well. I'm used to writing drabbles, but I'm trying to challenge myself.

Also- this is so far only a teaser prequel, I will be editing it later. My (lame?) excuse for posting a non-final draft is, if I don't, I'll forget. It's set around Season 3, although I haven't quite decided exactly when yet, that'll be part of the edit. Transformers characters will be 2007 movie-verse style, with influences drawn from G1. AU.

* * *

When they had first discovered and explored P9X-832, it had been deemed a good world for research- a multitude of wildlife, riotous growth of brightly-colored trees, bushes, and flowers, and yet no sentient or outright hostile species that they could find, no harsh or dangerous weather patterns in the area near the Stargate that would keep them from studying the flora and fauna. It seemed like a world that had slipped under the Goa'uld radar. In fact, had it been feasible, it would have been the perfect world for a camping vacation. 

Although they had been suspicious at first (in this line of work something that sounded too good to be true usually _was_), in the end one Colonel Jack O'Neill loved it, declaring that if he ever managed to retire again, he was building a new cabin here. One Daniel Jackson was, predictably, allergic to three kinds of pollen that they knew so far. Sam and Teal'c, for the most part, were simply enjoying the peace while it lasted. Of course, since they were SG-1, this tranquil planet was not going to be their assignment for long. And sure enough, as soon as Stargate Command received the report that nothing was trying to kill them or eat their faces, they were recalled and another team took over on P9X-832.

The scientists sent to study the planet were delighted by the sheer wealth of resources it promised. The Stargate was in the middle of a wide field carpeted by knee-high grasses and bright flowers, surrounded on all sides by forest in which the most fascinating trees and bushes grew, occasionally covered with patches of soft blue moss. The soil was rich with nutrients, unsullied by pesticides or pollution. Several of the plants they'd tested were not only edible but highly nutritious, the animals were not shy (one researcher was already halfway to domesticating one of the purple, four-winged hummingbirds that lived in the area), and one specific kind of shrub was the cause of much excitement, as its leaves apparently contained compounds usually found in antiretroviral drugs. They spent weeks studying everything within easy walking range, with still no sign of sentient inhabitants on the planet.

All in all, it seemed a utopia.

At least, until a hostile race showed up.

* * *

The exhausted, soot-smudged research team stumbled back through the Gate, immediately yelling for the control room to close the iris. 

"What happened?" General Hammond bellowed, trying to snap the scientists out of their dazed condition long enough to determine how to respond to whatever had caused this.

"It, we… it was _huge_. Huge, metal… and then it…," The man trailed off, looking around at his companions. "Doctor Petras, she's still back there! Please, you have to help her!" The whole team was in bad shape. Most were already being loaded onto stretchers for transport to the infirmary; a couple with burns, one with a large gash down his thigh. The man speaking seemed one step away from hysteria.

"It was huge. What, a pyramid ship?" Hammond was already planning, strategizing. Of course they would try to get her back, leaving people in the hands of the Goa'uld was never an option.

"No, it." He paused, shuddering. "It was alive. I know it sounds like something straight out of sci-fi, but it was a giant, living robot! Its eyes glowed, and it looked right at us and said something and then… another one showed up. And then they started fighting."

Dr. Fraiser interrupted. "If you'll excuse me, General, I need to get him calmed down and checked out." She moved a needle towards the man's arm.

"Wait." Hammond stopped her with a gesture. "I need to know exactly what happened, first. We'll get Doctor Petras back, son, don't worry. But you need to tell me, as clearly as possible."

He took a deep breath, visibly steeling himself. "Doctor Petras and I were collecting samples, when she looked up and said there was something in the sky. At first it looked like a small meteor or something as it fell, and it landed about a mile away from the clearing around the 'Gate. We were trying to decide whether we should go investigate or send a report back and wait for orders, when the ground started shaking and we could hear it, walking towards us. It was huge."

Hammond nodded. "How big, can you give us an estimate?"

"Ah, maybe twenty feet tall, we would only have come up to its knees. But it looked at us, and its eyes were glowing. It said something, I think, but it wasn't like any language I've ever heard. It sounded metallic, I guess that makes sense because it was made of metal but it looked human-ish, I mean it had a face and two hands and legs but…" He paused and took another deep breath. "Anyway. It took another step towards us, when another one came out of the sky- this one had wings, and it jumped on the other one and _screamed_ something and they started fighting. We ran, but one of them shot this… laser gun, or something, and Doctor Petras was behind us. She'd tried to grab some of our equipment, see, and she was back a ways. The laser hit near us and destroyed a bunch of trees, and that was when the others were injured. I looked back but I couldn't see her, and I couldn't go find her, and we made it to the Gate and dialed out as quickly as we could."

Dr. Fraiser brandished the syringe, looking impatient. "If I may, General…?"

He nodded. "Thank you, Doctor Kelman. Don't worry, you did the best thing you could. Rest and recover, we'll find her."

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Let me know, please! Concrit is greatly appreciated, especially as I'm using Wikipedia for most of my research. (And everyone knows how accurate _that _is.) 

--Illogically


	2. Chapter 1

As I said in the last chapter, the Transformers in this are a mash-up of G1 and movieverse. I'm going movieverse in the style of their bodies and in that I'm trying to avoid mass-shifting (meaning sorry, Megatron's not a gun) and G1-style in coloration, personalities, and general motivations.

For Stargate, it's set sometime after Deadman Switch, the episode with the bounty hunter, and before Forever in a Day. Definite AU.

One last thing: I don't own either Transformers or Stargate. Dr. Petras, though, is my original character.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home," Jack called, strolling down the Gate ramp. Behind him, the wormhole whooshed shut, and the alarms shut off their strident blare. Their latest mission had gone well, reports of Jaffa harrying a village turning out to be nothing more than bandits with some good costumes. The bandits quickly surrendered as soon as they found themselves up against a true fighting force.

"Honey? Viscous fluid created from the nectar of flowers?" Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Jack grinned. "You need to stop reading the dictionary for fun, big guy. It's just a saying."

The banter died, however, as soon as they saw the expression on General Hammond's face. "You'd better get something to eat while you can," he suggested. "You've got another mission waiting. You'll be briefed while you eat."

They did as they were told, the anticipation and apprehension felt before every assignment making itself known. They each got a light meal, not wanting to eat heavily but needing something to keep them going before they were sent out again. When they reached the conference room and heard the story of what had happened, though, Jack was incredulous.

"Giant _robots_? Are you sure one of those weeds they were picking wasn't narcotic?" he asked. Not that he disbelieved the word of the scientists, but he found the tale hard to swallow. "Sure they weren't watching old sci-fi movies or something?"

"Jack," Daniel cut in. "You _live_ a sci-fi movie. Space travel? Aliens? How are giant robots that much of a stretch?"

"There was nothing to indicate the existence of such beings when we arrived on the planet," Teal'c said calmly. "If they truly fell from the sky, perhaps there are ships in orbit."

Jack leaned back in his chair, and muttered, "Figures they'd be hostiles."

"Major Carter, you look like you have something to say," Hammond noted.

She frowned, thinking. "Sir, we're not sure they're hostile towards us. From what Doctor Kelman said, the fighting didn't start until the second one showed up. Did the first one make any threatening moves?"

He nodded. "That's a good point. No, it didn't do anything that we would interpret as hostile, but we don't know what it said. It could have been anything from 'I come in peace' to 'You're all my hostages'. What we need right now is first and foremost to recover Doctor Petras, and to determine if these things are a threat to Earth. The last thing we want right now is another alien race gunning for us."

"So." Jack said. "Do we know anything about their technology? Besides 'laser guns'?"

Hammond glanced down at his papers thoughtfully. "From the descriptions we got, they don't seem to resemble either Goa'uld or Earth tech, and while what they used sounds similar to Goa'uld energy weapons, we can't verify that. Teal'c? Do the Goa'uld know anything about these robots?"

"They are not familiar to me, General Hammond. But I do not know the area around that planet," the Jaffa responded. He was unperturbed, as usual. It took a lot more than the threat of giant alien robots to upset him.

Jack grimaced. "That's a no, then. Well, we could probably try grenades, maybe EMPs, but I'm betting something that big isn't going to be bothered much by regular bullets."

"The grenades you can have, but if you want EMP weapons you'll have to wait while we put something together."

"I could do that," Sam volunteered, but Jack shook his head.

"We'll take the grenades and our guns, but we don't have time to sit around. The faster we move, the more likely we'll be to find her. Anything else we need to know?"

Hammond shook his head. "We couldn't get anything else out of the scientists. They were terrified, not exactly taking notes. It's up to you, you're the best."

"Thanks, sir. Everyone ready? Let's move," Jack ordered.

After gearing up and mentally prepping themselves for the mission to come, SG-1 did a last-minute check of their equipment as they moved towards the Gateroom. The familiar whir-and-whoosh of the chevrons engaging was easily audible before blue light flared, and the wormhole stabilized. "Good luck," Hammond wished them, just before they stepped through to the soil of another planet.

Immediately moving for cover, Jack's watchful eyes noted the differences in the landscape since the last time SG-1 had been here. Over there, in the middle of the wide meadow, what used to be a copse of trees was now a scorched ditch leading into burned, shattered stumps and branches. Nearby, the trampled remains of large tents, broken tables, and scattered pieces of what used to be computers and other equipment. On the other side of the field, churned-up dirt, more burned patches, and the large, mangled body of a robot. Light, shiny blue paint was still visible on some parts, though it was scraped and charred in places. _No wings…_, he thought. It must have been the first one the doctors reported seeing. Unless there were more, the possibility of which he unfortunately couldn't rule out.

"All right, listen up," he started, speaking quietly. "We'll circle around the area, try to stick to the trees. Stay close together, and remember they could be capable of flight." They began a slow sweep of the meadow's perimeter.

They were about halfway around the edge of the grassy field, making sure to stay well-hidden under the trees, when Jack held up his hand and dropped to a sudden crouch behind a sheltering trunk. The rest of the team followed his example. A whisper of leaves, and Teal'c moved up closer to Jack, eerily quiet for someone his size. He held his staff weapon close.

Daniel peered around the trunk he was sheltering behind, and stifled a gasp. Through the trees and bushes, he could see a large, metal being pacing the length of a clearing. It wasn't exactly hard to spot, given that its body was mostly light gray, with details in blue and bright red. As it walked, every now and again it would stop and look towards the sky, as if waiting for someone, and the wings on its back twitched tensely. Occasionally it would glance around, as well. He shifted, nervous, and froze as a stick snapped underfoot.

Glowing red eyes stared straight at their leafy hiding spot.

Stared, then _narrowed_, and then it spoke.

"I can see you," it proclaimed in a high, slightly grating voice. "It would be better to come out now, before I decide to shoot." As if to make sure it was understood, it brandished a large weapon attached to its right arm.

_Damn._ Jack stood and moved into view slowly, hands empty and open. Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c followed, cautiously.

"You are spies?" it spat menacingly. The weapon on its arm looked to be the same length as Teal'c's body.

"No," Jack cautiously answered. "We're just here to find our friend. You might have seen her, she got left behind, when the others were running from the fighting. People on our planet are worried."

The large alien suddenly seemed more interested in them, though he tried to hide it. "Your planet… is it like this one?"

Jack blinked at the unexpected question, and Daniel jumped in. "In some places, yes. Although the actual kinds of plants and animals are different, here, and we humans are the dominant species on Earth."

"Danny." The unspoken command cut him off. _Talk shop later. When we find out what it wants._

The metal being seemed to be considering something. Its eyes flickered dimly for a moment before it said "I'm afraid your friend has been taken captive, by my faction's enemies. I eliminated one, but another managed to capture her and escape." It shifted in place with a sound of whirring gears.

"Do you know where?" Call him cynical, but he wasn't about to trust this thing for a heartbeat. Still, better to be polite until he figured out its capabilities and intentions. And they certainly didn't need to be caught in an alien race's civil war. Again.

It gazed steadily at Jack for a moment. "You do not seem like the kind of foul beings that would ally themselves with my enemies. I will help you."

"Great! Who are you, by the way?"

The alien lifted his chin and thrust his chest forward proudly. "I am Starscream, Air Commander and second-in-command of the mighty Decepticon forces!" His bluster would have been comedic were he not huge, dangerous, and in possession of information they needed. He settled a bit and said, "Your friend… I believe the one who took her fled to the east of here, out of my scanner range. I've been waiting for backup, but it may be a while more before my comrades arrive."

"Thanks," Jack replied. "We'll, uh. We'll go look."

"I could not let you do that." Starscream's eyes narrowed, glancing disdainfully over their P-90s and Teal'c's staff. "Your weapons would do little against them."

The colonel was definitely not inclined to take such an order easily. "Then we'll go back to our planet and get better weapons."

"I could not let you do that, either."

"Why not?" he tried not to snap. Diplomacy wasn't Jack's strong suit, but if he relinquished control of the situation, Daniel would talk the robot's ears- or whatever it used- off.

"That device gives off high amounts of energy. My enemies might read it as an aggressive action, and attack."

Jack nodded his understanding, but wasn't quite ready to give up. "Can I talk with my group for a moment? Privately?" he asked, trying not to let his annoyance show.

"Of course." Starscream was instantly amenable, moving to the far side of the clearing and turning his back, making a show of ignoring them.

They formed into a loose huddle. "This doesn't look too good, Colonel," Sam said quietly. "I can't figure out his motivations. Everything he says makes sense, of course, but I can't tell if he's honestly concerned for our safety or if he doesn't want us running into the other group for a different reason."

"He's an alien robot," Daniel argued. "We don't know everything. How can we judge his intentions when we don't even know if he has the same emotions as us?"

Teal'c spoke up. "As you say, Daniel Jackson, we cannot judge his intentions. However, I believe the phrase to use here would be 'I have a bad feeling'."

"I'm with you, big guy." Jack nodded. "Something about this just doesn't sit right with me."

"Okay then, how about we try _asking_? You never know until you ask."

Jack snapped his fingers and pointed at Daniel. "All right. You do that. And while you're at it, see if you can at least talk him into letting us send a report back through the 'Gate."

"Fine." Daniel walked across the clearing towards Starscream. The others continued their discussion, but kept an ear on the other conversation.

"Um. Excuse me?" Daniel called up to the giant being.

Starscream shifted, and burning red eyes flicked in his direction. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to ask some questions. We're explorers, you see, a first-contact group. We're very interested in other cultures and races…"

"Yourself in particular, I take it." Daniel though he saw a hint of a smile on the large being's face.

"Well. Yeah," he admitted. "I was wondering… you said the other group were enemies of your faction, the…?"

He nodded. "The Decepticons," he explained. "Our enemies, the Autobots, wronged us long ago. We have fought long and hard against them, but in recent times our planet's energy sources have grown sparse. Both our factions now search for a new world, one that we may perhaps colonize, to draw energy from. We had thought this planet perfect, when our ship's scanners found it, so I was sent ahead as a scout. When I landed, I discovered your people, but then discovered that the Autobots followed us here. They attacked, and I'm sure you know the rest." He shot one more irritated look towards the sky. "Rest assured, my comrades will drive the Autobot scum from this planet."

Daniel furrowed his eyebrows, thinking back to the briefing. "Our scientists told us that one of the Autobots approached first, and you attacked it."

"In defense of your people," Starscream said eagerly. "I could not wait to see what he had planned for them, when they were obviously unarmed and unprepared."

"I see… Thank you," Daniel said.

"You have not yet introduced yourselves, either. Is it not polite to exchange names?"

"Of course! I didn't mean to be rude… I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson, that's Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Carter, and Teal'c. And... I don't mean to switch subjects this fast, but I wanted to ask a couple more things. How did you learn our language? They said the other one couldn't speak it."

"Though they are primitive in comparison to ours, I was able to link to one of your computers. From that, it was simple enough. Unfortunately, when your transport device activated, it startled me and I dropped the computer." He gestured towards the fragmented remains of it, where it had landed and broken half-hidden behind a large bush. "I have taken the liberty of translating titles and names, as closely as possible, into your language as well."

"I had figured," Daniel agreed. "And are you sure we can't return to report to our superiors? If we don't, they're prepared to assume the worst. The last thing I want is to accidentally start a war."

This did not seem to make Starscream happy. The red glow of his eyes flickered a few times, before it grudgingly announced, "Very well. But I can't swear to what the Autobots will do in response. I may not be here when you return."

"We'll try to make it as quick as possible," Daniel promised.

Starscream took a few steps in the direction of the clearing that held the Gate. "I'll escort you."

On the trip back, Jack couldn't help noticing that although originally the forest they'd traveled through to find Starscream had been mostly undamaged, the giant robot now snapped branches and trees out of his way. He also noticed that despite making sure no debris landed on the humans, Starscream wasn't very careful where it dropped, simply tossing it to one side. On one hand, there was now a clearer path, but on the other hand the trail would now be easily visible to whoever came by.

They reached the Gate shortly, not having bothered with the circuitous route they originally followed. "Carter," Jack nodded at the DHD. At his order, she went over to the device, dialing Earth's coordinates with practiced smoothness. Starscream kept a close eye on them, seemingly analyzing every move they made, and studied the wormhole's event horizon intently until they passed through.

They were greeted by blaring klaxons and a very worried General Hammond. "What's going on? Did you find Doctor Petras already?"

"Not quite, sir," Jack answered.

"Something went wrong, then?" the general questioned.

"Not… quite, sir." Jack sighed. "One of them spotted us, the one with wings from the scientists' report. We only came back to get everyone up to speed on the situation, it might end up being a bit sticky."

"Give us everything you can. The more we know, the more prepared we'll be."

Jack related their encounter with Starscream, including his misgivings and Daniel's optimism. "And I don't like it, and I don't trust it, but we're going to have to work with it for now, if we want to get our girl back."

"I see." General Hammond thought things over for a few minutes, then suggested, "Why don't you all arm up with zats? They may be small, but energy weapons may have a greater effect on these things than simple bullets."

They each took one of the small weapons, but opted to keep the P-90s as well. Any advantage they had might be needed. Once Hammond had been filled in, they made ready to go back to P9X-832, with orders to keep a weather eye on their purported ally. Daniel was assigned the task of getting as much information out of Starscream as he could, preferably without giving away too much in return. Carter was to study their physiology, if she could, and learn what, so to speak, made them tick. After a short while, they were ready to return and resume their mission.

When they returned, nothing in the meadow had changed. A deer-like animal stared wide-eyed at them, frozen, before bounding away back into the forest on the relatively undamaged side. The only notable difference from before was that Starscream was gone.

It wasn't long before he returned.

* * *

Unknown to them, though, was what had occurred after they had returned to Earth. 

Once they had left, Starscream dropped his helpful pose. "Feh. Trying to think and act like an Autobot makes my processor hurt," he muttered sourly. He then opened communications, signaling the one mech above him, Megatron. He had been sending short messages throughout his contact with the humans, an exciting and potentially gainful turn of events.

"_You can come in now, they're gone._"

"_And why are they gone?_" was his leader's disgruntled reply. "_I seem to remember giving specific orders for you to _keep them here_ until we knew what they were__ and__ why they were here_."

"_You underestimate me yet again. I have that information already,_" Starscream retorted. "_Come to my location and I'll give a full report_."

Megatron had arrived swiftly to find Starscream waiting by the currently inactive Stargate. "Well? What do you know?"

Starscream gestured grandly at the standing ring. "This-" he got out, before the speech he had planned was interrupted.

"Did you call me out here just for _this_, Starscream?" Megatron growled. "We _knew_ this is what they used to escape."

"Yes, but now I know how," the winged mech responded smugly.

A measuring look was sent his way. "Explain."

"They pushed a series of buttons on this device. Then, from what I could gather, a stable wormhole formed with that ring as its anchor. I memorized the buttons, of course." Starscream said, smirking.

Excitement flared in the Decepticon leader's optics. "Open it, then, I will go through and conquer their world myself!"

His smirk grew. "Gladly, oh mighty Megatron. Your victory is assured, no doubt." He moved towards the DHD.

Megatron stopped short at the anticipation in the Air Commander's tone. "There is something else you have not told me. For that, _you_ will have the honor of being first through the wormhole."

Starscream paused, his smirk faltered. "They had… another device. Handheld, to their proportions. It was likely a comm link of some sort. Their end of the wormhole would be well-guarded, so it is probable that the comm is meant to transmit their identity, marking them as allies."

Megatron thought for a moment. "And we do not yet know what sort of weapons they are capable of using. Even if those puny things they call guns are all we've seen, it doesn't follow that those are all they have. We will need more information before attempting an invasion." A dark smile grew on his face. "You say they will return? Collect more information. Speak with them, learn everything you can. Get an invitation to their world, if possible."

"And then?" Starscream asked.

"You're an expert at betrayal, aren't you? You get close, then betray them. Do I need to spell it out for you!?" Megatron snapped.

"I live to serve, Lord Megatron," Starscream sarcastically announced.

Both mechs suddenly paused and turned to the east. Their scanners had picked up a new signal, one belonging to an Autobot, coming in swiftly from the east. As soon as they noticed it, though, it altered course, presumably having sensed them in return.

"After it!" Megatron roared, "Bring it back for interrogation!" Starscream leaped eagerly into the sky, his metal body shifting itself smoothly into an alien aircraft.

He blasted through the air, his powerful engines carrying him across the intervening miles in seconds, and he shortly arrived in the area his sensors indicated. But although he watched carefully, there was no sign in the forest below of his quarry. He passed the area his scanners insisted hid an Autobot three times without visual contact.

An idea hit. _A hologram.__ The scum's hiding himself with a hologram!_

On his next pass, he took aim with his null ray at an inconspicuous cluster of trees, and fired two carefully-placed shots.

Cursing himself, he realized that he'd missed, hitting an actual tree. He'd come close enough, however, that the discharge from his rays knocked the hologram generator offline, revealing a crouching Autobot.

With the generator in his chest no longer functioning, the green Autobot began to fight back. He was a good enough shot that Starscream was forced to fly out of range for a moment. When he circled back, the Autobot had again taken cover among the trees, his dark green paint working as camouflage and making targeting difficult.

The Autobot was placing his shots in a clever pattern, trying to drive Starscream in a different direction, working to clear a path to the east. Trying to escape back to his teammates, wherever they were hiding. Starscream refused to be tricked into following his quarry's plans, instead carefully herding him back towards the Stargate.

The battle was difficult, and with Starscream's attention totally focused on it, when they reached the meadow he failed to notice that the humans had returned. He circled around once more, firing rapidly enough to push the green mech out from his cover under the trees and into the open meadow. On his next pass, he aligned his trajectory and transformed in midair, momentum slamming him down into the Autobot's body. The flying tackle sent them both skidding across the ground, but while Starscream was back on his feet in moments, his opponent was stunned, groaning and moving weakly.

He stalked over and took aim at his enemy's chest, one point-blank shot would extinguish the Autobot's spark.

"Hey!"

The shout startled him, and he twisted around to aim at its source. The humans glared back, three of the four with their own pitiful weapons at the ready. The fourth was the one who had shouted, the one called Daniel.

"You can't just shoot him while he's laying there helpless!" the human continued.

"He is my enemy," Starscream hissed. "He was planning an ambush, and it was only luck I caught him before he killed all of you. Why should I not kill him now?"

"Why don't you just take him prisoner or something? He might know where Doctor Petras is." The human was being logical, and even if the Autobot refused to give up information Starscream could always torture him. A little torture was good stress relief.

Still, he didn't like taking orders from anyone, and was very tempted to shoot the Autobot simply to be contrary.

And then, of course, there was the danger that the humans would want to speak with him. The Autobot would, of course, cheerfully tell them everything they wanted to know. And if they believed him over Starscream… there could be trouble. Starscream didn't want to kill the humans until he learned the location of their planet at the very least. Megatron, as well, would want information on the Autobot forces and location.

He wasn't sure which way to turn, and the longer he stalled, the more suspicious the humans would be.

* * *

Er. The Autobot is Hound, by the way. Also, eventually I'll be able to come up with a less generic title than 'Stars and Sparks'.

Does anyone know if I can crosspost this to the Transformers section without setting it up as a whole separate story?

And lastly, thanks for reading! - Illogically


	3. Chapter 2

Finally, chapter two. ...wow, this is already longer than any fic I've written before, and the outline's already calling for at least ten more chapters!

* * *

Starscream stood, unsure whether to acquiesce to the human's demands or to kill the interfering Autobot where he lay. Glancing back at his enemy, he saw that the other mech's optics had gone dark. He'd offlined, but wasn't deactivated.

He thought quickly. Megatron had been even more temperamental and less patient than usual, lately, and he'd have Starscream's bolts if his orders weren't carried out. The humans couldn't do much to him, and he could probably use different means to find their planet – if these ones disappeared, others might still come looking for them. It wasn't likely the Autobot had taken the time to learn the humans' language, anyway.

His systems rumbled quietly, he was less than pleased with even the best choice. "I have nothing to hold him with." He looked back at the prone mech, deciding his injuries were bad enough that he'd be offline for a good while, and certainly couldn't walk on his own. "Guard him, if you can, and I'll return shortly."

The team watched in amazement as Starscream shifted into a triangular-looking jet, the shape reminiscent of a small tel'tac, and soared into the sky. "…have to keep an eye out for that," Jack muttered. He turned his attention back to the robot lying on the ground, and winced. "I've seen cars come out of truck rallies looking better than that guy."

One of the Autobot's hands twitched. Daniel jumped back a pace from where he'd been looking at it.

"Is it… unconscious?" He leaned back in cautiously.

"Seems that way," Sam answered, joining him in studying the giant form. "I kind of hope Starscream comes back soon, I don't like being left alone with this thing."

Jack and Teal'c kept their eyes on the surrounding sky and forest. "Still don't trust him," Jack started conversationally.

"Nor do I, Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c answered. "He has given us vague answers, volunteered no information, and has kept us from contact with any others of his kind."

"Not to mention he tried to keep us from going back through the Gate," Jack added. "And he's pretty damn full of himself."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing.

"Wha- Hey!" Jack said indignantly, "I am not full of myself!"

"Indeed," was all Teal'c would say.

Jack scratched his head, muttering to himself while turning back towards the other members of his team. "Hey, you two having fun over there?" he called.

"Yes, actually, sir," Sam answered. "This metal has some similarities to trinium, but so far as I can tell, it's not any alloy we know."

"It's amazing how humanoid they look," Daniel added. "In the face, hands, similar proportions… There's obviously some differences between this guy and Starscream, but I guess if you can build new people, you can customize."

They moved back again, and Sam raised her P-90 as the Autobot's eyes flickered on once more. They shone brightly while it said something in its strange, metallic language, then the blue glow faded slowly back to dark. SG-1 relaxed when it didn't do anything else.

"I wonder what it said…" Daniel murmured, venturing a few steps back toward its prone body. "It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before."

"I don't know about that," Jack told him, "Reminds me of a dial-up modem on a bad day."

Daniel rolled his eyes and went back to poking at the robot's hand.

True to his word, Starscream was soon back, but he didn't come alone. Two companions, also in the form of deadly-looking alien jets, circled the meadow. Starscream's gray, red, and blue paint distinguished him from the others, of which one was black with purple trim, and the other blue with stripes of red. They transformed, same-model jets shifting into very similar-looking robots, landing a safe distance away from Jack and his team. The ground trembled slightly as they walked closer, Starscream carrying a length of thick cable. He manhandled the Autobot onto his side, tying his hands securely behind his back as the other two jets stood guard.

"Friends of yours?" Jack asked.

"Skywarp and Thundercracker," Starscream introduced, gesturing first to the black one and then to the blue one. "My subordinates."

"Dunno how pleased Megatron'll be about that guy's condition," Thundercracker observed. "Might take a bit of repairs to get him talking."

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Starscream snapped. "He's alive, that's all we need. Megatron never said how happy he had to be."

"Megatron's your leader, I take it?" Jack asked.

Skywarp crouched down, cables and gears in his legs creaking, and peered at him. "Tiny little things, aren't they?"

Jack glared up into his red eyes. "We're not _things_."

"Skywarp, don't scare the organics," Thundercracker said. "They're delicate." He turned and said something to Starscream in their own language, the harsh sounds unintelligible to the humans.

Skywarp ignored Thundercracker and reached down to poke at Jack. Jack slapped at his finger, hopping back to avoid being nudged off-balance. Teal'c dropped into a battle stance, raising and readying his staff weapon, energy crackling over its tip.

Fortunately, the situation was defused by Starscream's fist clanging into the side of Skywarp's head.

"Ow, what was that for?" the black and purple mech whined.

Starscream's haughty glare could have put a Goa'uld to shame. "I gave you _orders_ on how to treat our allies. Either follow them or go back to base and send me a _competent_ mech."

Skywarp slunk back away from the humans, stomping across to the far side of the meadow to sulk. Starscream and Thundercracker started to heave the Autobot off the ground, when Skywarp yelled.

"Screamer! I've got three Autobot signals coming in from the south!"

Starscream turned to look in his direction, body tense, dropping his burden with a painful-sounding _thud_. Thundercracker, though, was the first to move, jumping into the air as his body twisted and folded into his jet form. The other two were quick to follow, leaving the humans once again alone in the meadow with the unconscious Autobot.

They waited apprehensively. Rustles in the forest put them on their guard, but the only thing that appeared was a family of small animals, like rabbits with striped fur and long tails. They hopped to the edge of the trees, peered curiously at them, then returned to the underbrush.

As they relaxed, the green robot behind them groaned again. They turned around to see its eyes were glowing again, as it tried to move an arm and realized it was tightly bound.

It spoke. "You need to… get away," he managed, his voice sounding dazed and slightly garbled. "Starscream will come back."

"We know," Sam told him cautiously. "He's been helping us."

At that, the Autobot's eyes dimmed, then brightened, and he looked confused. "What? No, it's a trick. He'll use you… soon as he thinks you're not useful, he'll get rid of you."

Jack cut in. "And why should we trust you over him? Your people abducted one of our scientists."

The Autobot tried to shake his head, and winced. "Didn't abduct her… rescued her." He looked past them into the forest, and once more they heard rustling leaves. This time, though, it wasn't any small animal. The rustling grew louder, into branches being pushed aside and brush being trampled, and finally the trees and bushes at the edge of the forest bent aside to reveal… apparently empty air.

But after a second, there was a shimmer of light, and a blue and white robot now stood where the trees were displaced. It stepped out into the meadow, branches snapping back into place behind it.

"Mirage!" the green Autobot exclaimed.

"Hound," the new one acknowledged. "Can you walk? We need to get away from here."

"I don't know. I'm banged up pretty bad. It sure would help if you'd untie me, though."

Mirage looked pointedly at the humans, then switched to the other language. They conversed for a minute, while SG-1 waited tensely. Abruptly, Mirage switched back to English and addressed the humans. "You will come with us. Hurry, before Starscream returns."

"I don't think so. Starscream's told us about your war. We don't want to get involved, we just want our scientist back."

"He will have twisted the story. I can take you to Dr. Petras, and explain everything once we're in a protected area. There isn't time now, either come with me or return to your world and stay safely away from Starscream and his allies."

Jack thought for a moment, eyes narrowed. Mirage knew the name of their missing scientist, which obviously meant they'd spoken. The question was how much he knew and whether the information had been given willingly. It could still be a ploy of some sort… "Team?" he finally asked.

"I say go," Daniel said, after a pause.

Sam nodded curtly, as well as Teal'c.

Jack sighed and muttered, "Great. At least we're all insane together."

Mirage came forward and quickly undid Hound's bonds.

"We will be moving slowly. Can you keep up?"

"Of course," Jack said. These two were smaller than Starscream and his companions, and with one injured they'd be moving at a pace the humans would be able to follow.

Still, they had to walk quickly to keep up, brush and rough ground slowing their passage. Mirage supported Hound, their heavy footsteps flattening the ground and provided a slightly smoother path as SG-1 trailed behind. After about two miles, they came upon another large field, in which waited two more mechs. Mirage greeted them with a nod, and then SG-1 had a chance to catch their breath, waiting as a lengthy conversation ensued.

"Dial-up modem," Jack whispered to Daniel, who shook his head and sighed, still listening intently.

After a few gestures, the group seemed to focus on the humans. Mirage addressed them again. "As remiss as it may be, introductions will have to wait a little longer, we're still in enemy territory. If you would consent to being carried, we could move much faster." As he spoke, he helped Hound shift from leaning on his shoulder to the support of one of the new mechs, who was bulky and black, with very large weapons on each arm. The other one, silver and smaller than his companions, leaned down and held out his hands toward them.

Sam and Teal'c carefully seated themselves, one in each hand, and Mirage reached down for Daniel and Jack. They gripped his thumbs as they were lifted high in the air, and settled into a jolting, swaying motion as the small party started walking. The silver one carrying Sam and Teal'c went first, with Mirage following Hound and his companion. Hound was limping heavily, putting almost no weight on his right leg, and his left arm twitched occasionally. He had his other arm over the black mech's shoulders.

"Is he going to be all right?" Daniel asked Mirage. "Doesn't he need a doctor or a… a mechanic or something?"

"We have a medic at our base. He's one of the best, Hound will be fine."

They fell silent, watching the forest pass quickly by, much faster than when SG-1 was walking. Mirage and the others were careful not to let branches scrape anyone.

The trip was shorter than Jack had expected, even at the speed they were moving. The forest thinned out into rocky hills, and a few miles in they came to what looked like a military field base, on a giant robot scale. There were large tables shaded by open-walled tents, strange technology covering the surfaces of some of them. Jack thought it looked very normal, considering it was set up by an alien race they'd never heard of.

The base was abuzz with mechanical language as soon as they came into view; half a dozen Autobots paused from working at various tasks to look curiously at the humans. A white and red mech, the sharp gray chevron on his forehead only enhancing the irritated look on his face –"Our medic," Mirage murmured– rushed up to them, snapping orders and gesturing sharply towards an area where a couple of huge tables had been set up. The medic helped Hound limp over and lay down on one, grumbling the whole time.

The mechs carrying SG-1 kept moving, though, while Mirage explained that their leader had requested a meeting with them. A red and blue mech with a mask covering his mouth was waiting for them at the far end of the base, larger than many of the others they had seen. Mirage and the silver mech set the humans down at his feet and stepped respectfully back.

"I am Optimus Prime," he began in a deep, dignified voice, "and I'd like to begin by apologizing for the trouble you've been through. We never meant to involve bystanders in our war. If you would like, we will return you and Dr. Petras to the area where you were found as soon as it's safe to do so."

"Nice of you," Jack answered. "Where is she, by the way?"

"Speaking with one of our scientists, you can see her shortly. First, what should we call you?"

"I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, this is Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c. We're from a planet called Earth."

Optimus nodded. "Dr. Petras has told us a little of Earth, and we have learned much from a couple of computers that we managed to salvage after we rescued her. We ourselves come from a planet known as Cybertron, from which we had to flee after our enemies staged a coup. Speaking of which, is there anything you can tell us about their forces on this planet?"

"How do we know we can trust you? When we talked to Starscream, he made it sound like your side started the war," Jack said. This was more a test than anything else, what he had seen of the Autobots so far had already shown them to be more trustworthy than the Decepticons.

"I can only give you my word, and hope that our actions are the proof you need. We'll answer any questions you may have, and give what aid we can."

"We only met three of them. Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Starscream, Air Commander and second-in-command of the mighty Decepticon forces," Jack mimicked, answering Optimus's earlier question. "They mentioned another, Megatron, but we didn't see anyone but them."

The blue glow of Optimus's eyes dimmed and he looked away when he heard Megatron's name. "He's here as well, then. I had hoped Starscream would be the worst we'd have to deal with."

Looking back to the humans, he changed the subject. "Thank you. Would you like to see Dr. Petras now, or is there more you'd like to ask?"

Jack spoke before Daniel could, leaving the curious archaeologist scowling at him. "Oh, there'll be time for questions later, though I'm sure there's plenty of them."

"Very well," Optimus dismissed them, turning to speak with the smaller mech that had accompanied them, and Mirage offered to lead them to where she was.

"We have a ship," he said in response to a comment from Sam, "But it would be too easily spotted in this area, it's hidden in the mountains some distance from here. Now, we've set up a small shelter for Dr. Petras, here near Ratchet's area."

They were back near the medic's tables, easily recognizable by the white and red mech grumbling over Hound's injuries. Mirage asked him something, and Ratchet glanced up from the tools he had buried in Hound's arm only long enough to jerk his head to one side.

Following that general direction, they went around another small, rocky hill.

On the far side was their missing scientist, one Dr. Isabelle Petras, sitting next to yet another mech, this one mostly white and gray with red and green details. He was sitting also, speaking as he fiddled with an item, protrusions where ears would be on a human lighting up in time to his words.

"Wheeljack," Mirage called.

He looked up. "Oh, Mirage! Did you need-" he cut off when he noticed SG-1 standing with him. "More humans!"

At that, Dr. Petras finally looked up. For a moment she stared, then leapt up and ran over to them. "You actually came! I wasn't sure you were going to, I saw the damage around the Gate. 

I'm Isabelle Petras, I think we met once before." She had a low voice for a woman, but was shorter than Sam, with shoulder-length dark hair and green eyes.

Once more, introductions made the rounds. "We have met, I was the one who briefed your team before you came on this assignment," Sam added.

"Are they… all right? Did the rest of them make it back?" Her brown eyes showed her apprehension, and her fingers worried at one of the buttons on her dingy lab coat.

"There were a few injuries, but they should heal just fine."

"Good." Once her worries were alleviated, she clearly put them aside. "I haven't been able to do any work since the attack, but they managed to save two of our computers when they rescued me, so our research hasn't been all lost. That's how they learned English, actually, they just seemed to download it right off there."

"Yeah, we, uh. We heard about that," Jack said, neglecting to mention Starscream for the moment.

Above them, Mirage made a soft noise, and when they looked at him said, "I have other duties to attend to. If you need anything, ask Wheeljack." They thanked him for his help, and he headed back in the direction they'd come.

Wheeljack, still holding the item he was working on, waved cheerfully. Despite the mask covering the lower half of his face, his eyes shone brightly, giving the sense of a smile. "It's nice to meet you. Dr. Petras has been telling me the most fascinating things about your planet. It's true that you only have organic life-forms?"

"Yes," Daniel answered. "We didn't know your kind existed until our scientists reported Starscream's attack."

"They'll be talking for hours," Sam said to Dr. Petras. "Now. You've been out here for two days, how are you feeling? It must have been rough on you."

The petite woman snorted. "If I couldn't handle living without pillows and air conditioning, I wouldn't have volunteered for this mission in the first place. I had enough food with me, I'm fine."

Jack nodded. "What can you tell us about them?"

"The Autobots, you mean? They've been perfectly civil, very accommodating. Only five speak English now, but they've made sure I had everything I needed."

"And about their plans here?"

She glanced over to where Daniel and Wheeljack were absorbed in their conversation. "From what they've told me, all they're looking for is an energy source. He said this area's rich with a mineral that can be refined for energy, the description sounded like naquadah. But when I asked, they said they'd never encountered naquadah before."

"Naquadah, eh?" Jack looked thoughtfully down at the rock under his feet. "We'll have to report all this to the General as soon as possible."

"The Decepticons hold the Gate," Teal'c pointed out. He was still alert, on guard for any unanticipated trouble.

"The Autobots were also planning a push to take the Gate," Dr. Petras added. "They're only waiting for a couple more of their fighters to arrive. This is their first encounter with a Stargate, too, they only worked it into their plans once I told them it was how I'd need to get home."

They were interrupted by another commotion at the edge of the base, three more Autobots returning from enemy territory.

Wheeljack broke off his talk with Daniel to explain things. "They're the ones who provided the distraction, while Mirage went in to get Hound. That's Prowl, Bluestreak, and Bumblebee."

Prowl, a somber-looking white and black mech, seemed exasperated at the antics of his partners. Bluestreak, though he looked similar to Prowl, was much more animated, talking a mile a minute and waving his arms in exaggerated gestures. The bright yellow Bumblebee was content to back him up with the occasional interjection, though they were both smiling about something.

Bluestreak noticed Wheeljack and waved him over. Wheeljack set aside the object he still held, stood, and went to join them. SG-1 trailed behind, interested in the newcomers as well, and were treated to Wheeljack's translation of the tale of Starscream using Thundercracker as a living shield.

"I bet he wasn't too happy about that," Daniel laughed.

"Oh, definitely not, Bee says you should have heard some of the names he was calling Starscream," Wheeljack said.

They were completely unprepared for the sudden, deafening explosion behind them.

* * *

I've been thinking about retitling this "Calling Down the Stars", what do all of you think? Anyone have a better suggestion?

Thanks to my good friends and betas, for putting up with my crazy ideas! (And no, hitting me doesn't make me write faster, M.)

And thanks for reading! Concrit is welcomed and appreciated.


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry about the long delay between chapters, class was kicking my butt. Also, I got an idea for another Transformers fic that just begged to be written, so that was eating into my time a bit as well (Hopefully it'll be done and posted soon).

Also, a quick thanks to The Cat Crusader, who pointed out I'd made a mistake in the last chapter- Petras's eyes are supposed to be green, in one line I'd written them as brown.

* * *

Ch. 3

Dr. Petras shrieked and ducked. Though they were shaken as well, SG-1 was instantly looking for the source of the attack, guns and staff weapon at the ready. After a tense moment, though, they noticed that the surrounding area was completely calm, and after the initial shock, the mechs surrounding them simply turned annoyed glares on Wheeljack.

Wheeljack just looked sheepish.

The medic came storming out of his area and surveyed the scorch marks around the area where Wheeljack had left the item he'd been fiddling with, expression absolutely furious. Then he rounded on the other mech. Although SG-1 didn't understand the words, they could certainly still tell a chewing-out when they heard it. The other mechs moved slowly away, trying to avoid his wrath. Every time Wheeljack tried to say something, the other mech glared him into submission and continued his tirade.

"But Ratchet…" he protested in English.

Ratchet didn't even pause when he switched languages. "…of all the utterly _idiotic_ things to do, you had to test an unknown, unstable substance without any containment. Worse, you _left it unattended_! Are _all_ your logic circuits fried? I was working on Hound! What if I'd been doing something delicate? What if your new friends had been near it?"

Wheeljack's expression went from sheepish to stricken. "I'm sorry, Ratch, I know I wasn't thinking…"

"Do you _ever_?" Ratchet asked acidly. With that, he turned on his heel and stomped away.

Wheeljack, for lack of a better description, wilted. He turned sorrowful eyes on the humans, looking for all the world like a huge puppy. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone, really. Are you all right?"

"Fine, I think," Daniel said shakily.

"That's what you were doing? Experimenting with naquadah?" Sam said incredulously. "It's a good thing that explosion wasn't a lot larger!" Fortunately, it had been mostly flash and noise, with little damage done to the surrounding area, aside from scorch marks and a little dirt and rock kicked up. The debris had already settled, and the smoke was quickly drifting away.

Wheeljack shifted his weight, still ashamed. "It was only a little bit, I didn't know it was going to do that… Maybe you should stay with Ratchet for a bit. He can set up somewhere for you to sleep, it's getting dark and Dr. Petras explained your sleep cycle to me."

It wasn't sunset yet, and they weren't tired, but did as Wheeljack suggested, slightly nervous as they stepped into Ratchet's workspace. Hound lay unconscious on a table above their heads, one hand hanging over the edge.

Ratchet stood at a smaller table, covered in strange-looking tools, bits of wire, and sheets of metal. Picking up a small metal plate and something that looked like a welding torch, he turned and noticed the humans. "Can I help you with something?"

"Uh, Wheeljack told us we should…" Jack trailed off as Ratchet started welding the piece of metal to a tear in Hound's arm. "That doesn't… hurt him, right?"

The white and red mech snorted. "Of course not. As soon as it's started assimilating into the rest of his arm, he'll be up and it won't be long before he's cleared for light duty. I've already completed everything but this and touch-ups to his paintjob." He frowned. "It's simply lucky timing that I finished the delicate work before that explosion."

"Assimi- right. Like a skin graft?" Daniel muttered, next to Jack. He looked questioningly at Dr. Petras.

"Don't ask me," she whispered back. "I'm a zoologist, not any kind of medical doctor. And somehow I don't think their biology falls under 'zoo'."

Ratchet finished up and set aside the welder. "Now. What was it you needed?"

"Wheeljack said there'd be a place set up for us to rest?"

The medic glanced at the position of the sun, sinking low on the horizon. "It's time for your recharge cycle?" He made a 'hmm'ing sound, but it came from his chest rather than his mouth. "I'm afraid all I can offer for your bedding are some polishing towels. We weren't expecting any alien encounters."

"Yeah, well, neither were we," Jack said. Ratchet picked up four towels the size of bedsheets, and led SG-1 to a smaller tent, this one with only one wall open. 'Smaller' was still large enough to hold all five humans with room to spare, and the tent already held the towels that Dr. Petras had been using. They laid out the towels –large enough to fit two people on each–, two for cushioning and one for a blanket, and had a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to determine who had first watch. Jack threw paper when he should have picked rock, and sat on a rock and griped while the others got ready to sleep.

Daniel and Sam were soon quietly asleep, having long mastered the field soldier's art of sleeping when and where one could. Even if Ratchet hadn't had the towels, they would have made do.

About an hour after the sun set, Dr. Petras joined him. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he said.

"Nah," she responded. "I'm a night-owl type. Besides, I thought you might want to know, they're planning an assault soon."

That certainly got the colonel's attention. "When? Where?"

"On the Gate," she told him. "From what Wheeljack told me, they're just waiting for a couple more of their warriors."

Jack gave her an appraising look. "How much have you been talking to them?"

She shrugged. "I explained the basics of biological life to them, and they got a lot of info off those computers. I don't think they're used to encountering aliens. Wheeljack's the one that's been most interested, the others are all mostly concerned with the Decepticons."

"And how'd they discover the naquadah? Wheeljack said it was new to them."

"From what I heard, they'd gotten unusual energy readings and reactions to their scans of the planet. They landed, found the naquadah, then found me and the computers. I'd guess either the other ones did the same thing, or were following the Autobots." She smiled weakly. "It's been a crazy couple of days, but most of the data my team collected is on a backup drive that I managed to save, so it's not a complete loss. Also, I'm sorry about the babbling earlier. Like I said, it's been…," she trailed off, sighing.

"Hectic?" Jack suggested. He had to grin, though. She was a dedicated scientist, worrying about research and data while giant robots were fighting nearby.

"Heh, that'd be a polite way of putting it. I had to explain human body functions to beings that have never seen our like before. At first, only Ratchet and Wheeljack spoke English, then Optimus, Hound and Mirage learned in case they found anyone else. I still don't know half their names, and the ones I do know I remember mostly by colors. God, do I miss Earth."

Jack nodded, staring contemplatively at the slowly appearing stars. _Wonder how being on an alien planet would affect someone's horoscope…_ "What do you think about them?" he asked abruptly.

She thought for a minute. "They seem like good people. Very preoccupied with their war, but I guess that's what war does to soldiers; they're definitely soldiers, but from the ones I've talked to, they just want it to end peacefully. That aside, it may not be my specialty but I think there's a lot we could learn from their tech."

"That'll depend on whether we can negotiate a treaty with these guys, and what they're willing to give to us."

They sat, watching the sky and listening to various hums, whirrs and clanks from the mechs moving around the base. Eventually, the doctor's head started to dip.

"Hey." Jack nudged her and she jerked upright. "Go get some sleep. Don't worry, we're not going to vanish in the middle of the night."

"Yeah," she answered groggily. "Y'know, maybe I wasn't cut out for off-world work."

"Don't knock it. It just takes a bit of adaptation." Isabelle headed off to curl up next to Sam in the towels, and Jack settled in to wait until the end of his watch.

* * *

Jack woke to sunlight shining cheerfully into his eyes. Teal'c nodded a greeting from where he sat on watch. "It's good you're awake. There are new Autobot arrivals, and Optimus Prime wishes to speak with us again."

A vague mumble next to him- Jack caught the word 'coffee' in it somewhere- indicated that Daniel was making his way back to the land of consciousness.

"Up and at 'em, Danny," Jack said brightly. He was rewarded with a bleary-eyed glare as Daniel fumbled to find his glasses. He put them on and blinked against the sunlight, then focused on 

Jack. "Come on," Jack nudged him. "We might need you to help with the diplomatic blah-de-blah."

"I don't think that's the … technical term," Daniel told him, yawning.

"See? This is why we need you. You know the technical terms, or can at least bullshit them."

Once they were presentable, or as presentable as possible, Mirage came by to escort them to the Autobots' leader. Optimus was conferring with Prowl, Ratchet, and two mechs that SG-1 hadn't seen before. "Plans for attack?" Jack asked quietly.

Mirage looked down at him, surprised, then sighed. "I'm not even going to ask where you heard that," he said. "Wheeljack's almost as bad of a gossip as Bluestreak."

As they approached, Optimus dismissed Prowl and the others, and knelt to address the humans. "Colonel O'Neill, you should know that we are going to attempt to take the Stargate."

Jack watched him carefully. "Why?"

"It is a powerful artifact in the hands of mechs who would not hesitate to use it to conquer unsuspecting worlds. We- _I-_ cannot allow Megatron to spread his tyranny any further. And is it not important to you to return home?"

Jack tipped his head slightly at Daniel, who stepped forward. "Of course it is. But understand that we'd return, unless there was drastic reason to deny access to this planet. Part of our mission is to contact and forge relationships with new races, to extend the hand of friendship to those who would take it. After matters settle here, we'd like to see about possibly forging an alliance with the Autobots."

Optimus looked kindly down at him. "You have been kind and behaved well so far, and I'm inclined to accept. First, though, I'd need to know more about your world, and the Decepticons are not likely to leave you in peace. After we have the Stargate secured, we will have more time to discuss relations, but we must concentrate on taking it. During the battle I'd like to ask you to stay here in the base camp with Hound and Wheeljack…"

"I'd rather not," Jack said. "My team's free to choose as they like, but personally I'd prefer to be there, whether I can help or not."

"Zats, sir," Sam murmured behind him, quietly reminding him that there was a way they could possibly be useful. But Jack wasn't willing to give up the element of surprise quite yet.

They decided that while Dr. Petras would stay at the camp until the 'Gate was cleared, SG-1 would accompany the Autobots who would be fighting, but the humans would stay well back from the battlefield. Optimus rearranged his plans slightly to include their presence.

And then, all that was left was to wait.

Sam and Isabelle seemed to hit it off well, and spent a good chunk of the day talking. Daniel was busy explaining the intricacies of human life to Wheeljack, such as why exactly they needed clothes.

Jack and Teal'c were talking shop. They studied the Autobots' plan of attack, discussed various possible scenarios, and thought about what to do if Starscream showed up again. The mechs in the camp were all finding ways to keep busy, many cleaning or checking weapons, or carrying supplies to Ratchet's tent. With the day seeming to pass slowly and uneventfully, Jack was getting twitchy. Whenever things were uneventful, it was usually because something was about to go horribly wrong.

When he said as much to Teal'c, the Jaffa stood. "Such moods are best countered with meditation."

Jack scoffed. "Come on, big guy, you know I don't have the patience for stuff like that." It was actually kind of amazing, how he could sit for hours in front of a lake, watching a fishing pole, but nodded off after sitting for fifteen minutes, watching Teal'c and a bunch of candles.

"I remember," Teal'c smiled. "But sometimes, exercise can be a form of meditation. If you'd like, I could teach you a few staff-fighting techniques."

"Sure, why not." Jack could regret bruised knuckles and battered dignity later, for now it was _something_ to do. It was easy enough to find and cut a tree branch of roughly the same size and heft. Teal'c taught him a few basic attacks, then defended as Jack practiced swinging at him. With Teal'c's urging, Jack tried to get through his guard, but a quick strike to his side knocked the breath out of him for a moment.

"Oh, so that's how we're playing, huh?" Jack wheezed, laughing. He swung again with renewed vigor, practice turning into a full sparring match. Within minutes they had an audience, mechs jostling for a view, calling encouragement to one man or the other. Teal'c was winning, having the advantages of size, strength, and decades of training with his chosen weapon. On the other hand, Teal'c was also pulling his blows, and Jack was quick and inventive, landing a few solid hits himself. Teal'c tried to disarm him, rapping the knuckles of Jack's left hand, but Jack gritted his teeth and retaliated with a kick to the shin. They circled, trading blows, Jack working hard to break through Teal'c's guard. Teal'c held back until he spotted clear holes in Jack's defense, then pointed them out in a slightly painful way.

Though he put up a good fight, Teal'c eventually got him with a sweep of his weapon that knocked Jack's feet out from under him. He landed heavily, losing his grip on his staff, and lay catching his breath for a moment before taking the hand Teal'c offered to help him back up.

"Thanks for that," Jack said, clapping the larger man on the back. "I really needed the distraction." He started streching to make sure the muscles he'd worked out wouldn't stiffen up.

"Indeed. With twenty years' training, you might be a decent fighter," Teal'c told him, straight-faced but joking. At least, Jack thought he was joking. The man had a poker face to beat all.

As the Autobots dispersed, Jack spotted Sam and Petras in among them. "Enjoy the fight?" he called to them.

"Yes, sir," Sam grinned, coming over to join them. "But I'm pretty sure the point is to _avoid_ getting hit."

Jack made a face at her. "Yeah, yeah, Carter, I'd like to see you do better."

She shook her head. "The difference is, sir, I know better than to even think about single combat against Teal'c. I'll stick to shooting the enemies, thanks."

"Everyone's a critic!" he said, tossing his hands up.

At a clanking behind him, he turned to see Ratchet towering above him, wearing a slightly concerned expression.

"Are you injured?" the medic asked. "There's discoloration forming under your right optic."

Jack poked at the bruise beginning to show on his cheek. "Fine. It's called a bruise, by the way, and it'll probably fade in a couple of days. We were just having a friendly match."

"Hm." The concern eased into his standard look of mild irritation. "Just remember that if you have any system failures, I won't know how to repair them."

"Trust me, I'm all right. A little thing like this will heal on its own, and I'm not about to go charging in anywhere that'll get me seriously hurt."

Ratchet looked at Teal'c. "And you? No damage?"

"None," he replied. "Even if I had sustained injuries, I possess advanced healing and a heightened immune system."

Under his breath, Jack muttered, "Ix-nay on unior-jay, big guy." Neither Cybertronian faction knew about the Goa'uld yet, and while Jack was planning on explaining things later, there was no sense in calling up trouble, especially right before a battle.

"Well, those who were watching certainly found it entertaining. I think some of them are starting to consider you… mascots, of sorts."

A red mech asked Ratchet something. "Excuse me," the medic said, beckoning the other mech to follow him away.

"Huh. Mascots. Did you hear that? We're mascots," Jack said, slightly bemused.

The rest of the day went a bit more swiftly. They threw together some of the edible plants in the forest for salads to complement the rations they'd brought for a full dinner, determined who had watch, and settled in to sleep. It would be an early morning and a long day tomorrow.

* * *

This chapter's pretty much just setup for the next one. As you might guess, lots of action coming up!

Thanks again for reading!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Aboard an enormous ship, for all its size a golden speck floating in space, a Jaffa saluted and bowed deeply to the richly dressed figure on the throne before him.

The figure spoke, his tone of voice suggesting that he had far better things to do than listen to his guard. "With what trivial matter do you disturb me?"

"My lord Apophis, the ship's scanners are receiving unusual signals from a nearby, supposedly uninhabited planet."

"Of what sort?" the Goa'uld asked, distorted voice uninterested.

"Of a sort we have never encountered before, my lord."

Apophis's eyes flashed, and he leaned forward, boredom changed to interest. "You mean to tell me you do not know?"

The Jaffa bowed again. "Forgive me my ignorance, great lord," he said, ashamed.

"It is no matter." Apophis waved his hand. "You are not expected to know all. Take us to this planet, I wish to see it for myself."

"It will be done, lord." He went to relay his god's orders to the Jaffa piloting the ship. They would soon be within range to run more in-depth scans of the planet, and of whoever on it was creating the signals they had picked up.

Thousands of miles away, the planet's sun rose above its horizon, shining down on the assembled Autobots. Although they were few in numbers, they had an impressive array of weaponry, from guns to blades. Even, in Wheeljack's case, a handful of naquadah grenades whose creation had been inspired by the earlier accidental explosion.

"Keep well away from him while he has those," Ratchet had warned the humans, when they were out of earshot from the inventor. "He means well, but his inventions don't always blow up on the enemy."

Optimus Prime surveyed his troops with satisfaction, then ordered a march.

They moved through the forest slowly, each human carried by a different mech. To Daniel's consternation, he was riding in Wheeljack's hand, flinching at every bump despite the cheerful mech's assurances that the grenades were perfectly safe and stable. Teal'c was with Hound, Sam with Ratchet, Dr. Petras with Mirage, and Jack with Bluestreak, who had decided to learn English.

"You gotta learn not to mind the Doc," the talkative gunner was saying. "He acts gruff, but he really just worries about all of us. As long as you don't do something stupid and get yourself hurt; if it's your own fault, you're likely to get a lecture, so if you do hurt yourself accidentally, it's better to let your self-repair systems take care of it unless it's really serious."

Jack sighed. He'd started this rather one-sided conversation, hoping to get a bit more information about their new-found allies. He hadn't expected the full life story of each and every mech in the group, especially since it turned out that they had _very long_ lives. And didn't use air to speak. Apparently one could keep talking for a long time when one didn't need to breathe.

"Now Sideswipe and Sunstreaker," Bluestreak continued, "they're twins, you know, those two over there. Sides is the red one, Sunstreaker's yellow, but don't ever call him 'Sunny'. That falls under stupid things that Ratchet'll gripe about having to repair you for. They're the best at close combat, they're both great fighters, and Sideswipe's pretty nice too. But you should have heard them complaining about the dirt on this planet, Sunstreaker especially doesn't like anything messing up his looks." He dropped his voice, speaking quietly. "Sunstreaker can be kind of scary, too. I wouldn't bother him if I were you."

Although Jack didn't even attempt to get a word in as Bluestreak rambled about some prank the two had pulled, "…and Prowl, he was furious, it took him so long to get the stain out…", he mentally filed that away for later inquiry. _Twins? They're made, not born, so it's not in the sense of human twins, I'm guessing. They don't look alike, but then, it could be like fraternal twins… Confusing._

He ended up tuning out most of the speech on someone called Red Alert, who was apparently so paranoid he thought half his own team was out to get him, or something like that.

Fortunately, Bluestreak shut up as they drew nearer to the territory controlled by the Decepticons. Before they could reach the clearing, though, the roar of an engine grew, and a black and purple jet shot by high overhead.

"Skywarp," Bluestreak muttered, more venom in his voice than Jack would have thought possible from the friendly mech.

Though half a dozen guns were instantly trained on him, Skywarp circled out of range and headed back in the direction of the Stargate.

"Hmph. Well, we weren't expecting to ambush them anyway. Are you guys good to walk from here? We'll need to be ready to fight soon," Bluestreak told him.

"Sure," Jack said, and the mechs lowered them to the ground.

"Remember, you're to _stay back_," Ratchet warned them. They all agreed, but SG-1 made sure their weapons were near to hand. Dr. Petras made sure she was behind the others.

They traversed the rest of the area between them and the clearing quietly, but as they broke cover, they were surprised to see only a handful of Decepticon guards surrounding the 'Gate.

The guards took full advantage of the momentary startlement, opening fire into the trees. Skywarp landed near them, shouting orders and gesturing in the Autobots' direction, then taking aim himself. Aside from him, there were six mechs that Jack didn't know, most looking as though they hadn't expected to be outnumbered two-to-one.

The Autobots returned fire, scrambling for cover amid the trees, and SG-1 fell back further, watching three mechs trying to circle around and flank the guards, moving stealthily. It was both good fortune and bad that the trees in this area were so thick; they provided enough cover to make it difficult for the Decepticons to get a clear shot, but were also close enough together that it was hard for the Autobots to maneuver well.

There was a ground-jolting explosion as Wheeljack tossed the first grenade. After the smoke and debris cleared, one Decepticon was down, clutching the sparking cables that had formerly attached his legs.

Another of the guards spotted the three Autobots that were trying to sneak around behind them. They were forced to duck back and defend from where they were, until a shot from empty air knocked the Decepticon's gun from his hands. Another dead-accurate shot, and the enemy crumpled to the ground, red eyes gone dark. Mirage shimmered into visibility as two of the other Decepticons turned to hold them off.

Though they were well outnumbered, they held their ground while the Autobots had to be careful with their attacks, so as not to damage the Stargate or DHD by accident. From what Jack could see, Mirage and Bluestreak were doing the most damage. Both were proficient snipers, quick and accurate.

A shot from one of the guards found its mark, and the black mech that had escorted them to the camp yelled as his knee gave out, his upper leg damaged. Wheeljack threw another grenade as cover as the others shoved the injured mech behind them, where Ratchet knelt to examine the wound.

The black mech growled and tried to wave him away, looking for a clear shot past his comrades. Ratchet responded with a whack to the head and a short lecture involving a lot of threatening 

gestures with a wrench. Finally the fighter subsided, letting Ratchet work while he kept an eye on the still-raging battle.

Three Decepticons were out of the fight now, two deactivated and the third, legless one trying to crawl away, leaving a glowing pink trail of liquid spattered behind him.

Jack noticed with surprise that Skywarp had been fighting on the ground this whole time, though he did seem to be staying covered behind his fellow Decepticons. Strangely, he didn't look concerned about the odds against him, even when one more guard went down, gaping holes in his armor from Sunstreaker's shots.

One of the two remaining turned to shout at Skywarp, only to take several hits in his back. He fell, twitching and jerking on the ground for a moment before going still. The other guard panicked, firing wildly without bothering to aim. Bluestreak winced as one shot seared right past his shoulder.

"Duck!" Jack yelled, and SG-1 threw themselves to the ground, getting showered with sticks and leaves as another shot ripped through the foliage above their heads.

Skywarp started to move, only to be stopped by the legless guard grabbing his ankle. With a disgusted look, he reached down and shot the crippled mech right between the eyes.

The last guard was terrified, lowering his weapon as Skywarp transformed. Thundercracker swooped by above, and Skywarp rose to join him.

Several Autobots ran to capture the abandoned guard, only to jump back as the two jets opened fire, riddling the torn-up ground around the Gate with still more holes, and killing the Decepticon guard. They were gone before the Autobots could retaliate.

"They… killed their own guys," Daniel said, shocked.

"They're Decepticons," Ratchet growled, stomping towards them, tree branches creaking as he pushed them out of his way. "Murdering their own soldiers is the least of their crimes."

Daniel shivered, still staring at the metal corpses in the clearing. "How we believed Starscream, even for a moment…."

"Starscream's among the most insidious, conniving and treacherous, even for a Decepticon. Fortunately, he lacks subtlety and patience, or he'd be an even worse threat. It's no secret he's trying to overthrow Megatron, but I don't think he'd know what to do with himself if he ever succeeded. Megatron's too vicious to die anyway."

"Or maybe you'll get lucky and they'll kill each other off," Jack said.

Ratchet chuckled at that. "Stars would burn cold and Bluestreak would be struck speechless before Decepticons would do anything that useful." Jack grinned and even Daniel managed a smile. "Happily, there are no major injuries on our side. I don't know what they were thinking, leaving such poorly-trained fighters in charge..."

Over in the clearing, the Autobots were carrying away the wreckage from the battle. When the bodies were gone, SG-1 moved into the clearing.

Optimus Prime was waiting for them. "The Stargate is clear. You may travel home, if you wish," he said. "If you choose to return, we will welcome you, but know that it will be dangerous."

"You'll still be fighting?" Jack asked.

Optimus looked at him gravely, an expression of regret in his glowing optics. "As long as we must, until the Decepticons no longer threaten this or any other world. The… naquadah on this planet can be refined to make energy that we are in desperate need of, but the Decepticons would strip away the organic life, bleed the planet dry, and move on to do the same to other worlds. And if they control this Gate, from what I understand, they could spread faster than we could ever hope to contain."

"Well, that's not guaranteed," Sam said. "It takes a very specific combination of symbols to connect to other planets. Nearly two billion combinations exist; if they tried random combinations it could take years to find one that worked," she explained, "and even if they did, some planets are barren or dead already, and others are well-fortified against invaders."

"Granted, that hasn't stopped us yet," Jack said under his breath.

Optimus nodded. "That is heartening news, but there are still others like this planet, defenseless and tempting."

"I'd like to see how 'defenseless' they'd consider a Goa'uld ship," Jack said, laughing at the thought of Starscream facing down a ha'tak, or a swarm of death gliders.

That raised the Autobot leader's interest. "What is a 'Goa'uld'?"

Jack stopped laughing. "Bad news, one and all," he told Optimus. "That info wasn't on the computers you read?"

"No."

"They're parasites. They look like snakes, about this long; they dig into the human body, wrap themselves around the brain stem, and completely take over the host's body. They've also built themselves a nice little empire of slaves and various Jaffa armies. The people who serve them think they're gods."

"I am a Jaffa." Teal'c stepped forward, forestalling the next question. "I served a Goa'uld named Apophis, until Colonel O'Neill showed me that he was a false god. Now I work to free other Jaffa as well."

"They sound somewhat like Decepticons," Optimus said thoughtfully.

Jack snorted. "Lying, murdering power-grubbers? They'd either fit right in or stab each other in the back at the first opportunity."

"Then let us hope we never find out," was the grim response. In a lighter tone, he asked, "Did your species build these devices?"

"Ah, no," Jack answered. "It was actually another set of aliens, known as the Ancients. They're kind of gone, though. We've just learned how to use them."

"I see. Thank you. This has given me much to think about."

They thanked Optimus and the other Autobots for their aid and protection, then SG-1 prepared to leave, helping Dr. Petras carry the notebooks and computer drives she'd managed to save. After warning the Autobots out of the way of the Gate's vortex, Sam keyed in Earth's coordinates on the DHD. All the mechs looked on in interest as the wormhole stabilized, and Dr. Petras and Daniel went through.

"We'll be back," Jack told Optimus, then followed Sam and Teal'c on the long and instantaneous trip back to Earth.

.

Starscream, flying alone as high above the planet as atmosphere would carry him, growled threats and curses to the empty air. His left audio was ringing, a soft phantom sound. "It'd be just my luck if I've got a wire crossed in there," he grumbled.

He'd been sent on scout patrol, mindless grunt work with no chance of glory, head still aching where Megatron had hit him. The Decepticon leader had been furious at Starscream managing to lose not only four tiny aliens but also a tied, unconscious captive. "I'll destroy him… I'll tear him to pieces, and the Decepticons will be _mine_. What's left of him won't even be fit for scrap!"

He ran another scan, complaining to himself about 'pointlessnes' and 'exercises in futility', and almost fell out of the sky in shock. Out in space, not yet visible from the planet, there was a ship. A very large ship, that somehow had not yet, so far as he knew, been detected by anyone on the Decepticon ship _Nemesis_.

About to radio back to base, he paused and transformed. A familiar smirk worked its way onto his face. Something like this could prove to be… fortuitous. In more ways than one.

Changing back into his jet mode, he sealed his systems against the cold void of space and worked up the speed to break away from the planet's gravity well. If he could make contact with the alien vessel before Megatron discovered it, he could work things to his own advantage.

* * *

...because it's not really a Stargate fic without the Goa'uld. Yes, yes, Apophis finally showed up, you two can relax now. You know who you are. XD

I don't really have much to say right now, except thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"My lord," Apophis's Jaffa gave a curt bow. "We have detected a small ship approaching from the planet. Your orders?"

"How small of a ship?" Apophis asked. "Put it on the screen." He leaned forward in his golden throne to study the display.

"It is roughly the size of a death glider," his guard elaborated, "Of a design unknown to us. It's also giving off the same unusual energy as that which we were picking up from the planet, but we can detect no life signs from it. It seems to be heading directly for us."

"If it gets any closer," Apophis started, just as the foreign ship halted a safe distance away. Though he and his guards watched closely, for a long moment it simply sat there. Then the viewscreen flickered, and the image was replaced with a stylized, angular purple symbol resembling a face.

"I am Starscream," came the transmission, "and I come with a proposal that I believe may be… mutually beneficial."

...

The standard Gateroom greeting of blaring klaxons and armed soldiers died down as SG-1 came down the ramp. Petras was quickly handed off to Dr. Frasier's care, and the rest of them were called for an immediate debriefing.

"Well, they're exactly what they were described as – giant robots with giant laser guns," were Jack's first words to General Hammond, before they launched into a detailed report of what exactly they'd encountered, and everything they'd learned about the Autobots and Decepticons.

Hammond frowned when he heard about how Starscream had tried to trick them, but Jack quickly added, "He's not very patient, though, and from what the Autobots tell us, his ambition often overrides his intelligence and common sense."

"But how can you be sure these Autobots aren't lying as well? It wouldn't be the first time we've been played by both sides," the general countered.

"We've had only limited contact with them," Teal'c put in. "More extensive interaction would let us understand them better, though to all outward appearances, they are being honest."

"Call it gut instinct, I guess. They were kind, helpful… and I think we could learn a lot from them," Sam said. "They have – they _are_ – highly advanced technology. And they've just discovered naquadah and the Stargate system, which means whatever they have, it'll probably be completely new to us. If we could get them as allies, the exchange of knowledge could give us quite an edge in the fight against the Goa'uld."

"And you all agree with Major Carter?" Hammond asked, looking around the table. He got only affirmative replies. "Then I'll take it into consideration. That's all I can promise for now." He stood, dismissing them. "I'll let you know as soon as I decide."

"Well, so much for the fun parts," Jack remarked to Daniel on their way out of the room. "All that's left for now is reports."

"Maybe if you actually wrote your reports on time, instead of leaving them for the last minute, you wouldn't hate them so much," Daniel said, grinning.

Jack contemplated that for a moment. "No, I think I'd hate them either way. But see, my way at least leaves enough time to make coffee before I get chained to the desk."

Daniel quirked an eyebrow. "True. Does your way also leave enough time to bring some coffee to a poor, starving archaeologist?"

"Depends," Jack answered casually. "Does the archaeologist have anything to offer in return?"

Daniel snorted. "I'm not writing the report for you, Jack."

"Hmph. I suppose, out of the goodness of my generous heart, I could find the time anyways. But you owe me for this." He turned. "Hey, Carter…"

"I'm not writing it for you either, sir," she said sweetly.

Jack eyed Teal'c. Teal'c stared back. Jack sighed loudly, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Well, if no one sees me for a couple of days, you'll probably find me keeled over in front of a computer, dead of boredom."

...

Apophis listened patiently to the metal creature's plan. At first, he had thought about simply destroying it and its companions, and taking the planet by force, but it had piqued his interest. 'Do not be alarmed, I am about to change,' Starscream had said, and change he did. The part that made the Goa'uld lord truly take notice was when he spoke about humans. Though no names were mentioned, the description of those humans had matched the Tau'ri team that had plagued him of late. Perhaps, if he acted wisely, he could have two victories at once; a rich new planet to add to his territories, and to be rid of a rather large thorn in his side. Perhaps even these Decepticons could be useful, if he handled them carefully.

"I will, of course, need to meet with your leader to discuss the terms of any agreement. Once that is worked out, however, I see no potential interferences with our… personal arrangements."

"Of course. But I don't believe there will be problems with terms, we have no use for the humans or your naquadah. You will be able to do with them as you wish."

Apophis nodded, already plotting the slowest of tortures for the wretched humans and his traitorous First Prime. "And in return you will have access to the Stargate system. I must confess to curiosity, however. Why, once your enemies are destroyed, would you want access to a system that does not connect to any worlds you have conquered?" He was also considering the amount of force needed to blast or burn through the creatures' armor.

"However warlike my comrades are, I am at the core a scientist and an explorer." Starscream sounded slightly offended. "There is much to be learned from other worlds and species."

"I see. I meant no offense," he soothed. Inwardly, though, he was almost laughing. The creature likely thought that Apophis had believed his proposal and his explanations. Well, he would see what use the aliens could be, but once he had reached his goals, there would be no point in keeping them around further.

After a bit more negotiating, they were soon on their way to the planet. Surely this would put him back in Megatron's good graces- or would if his leader had any good graces, Starscream thought dryly, escorting the Goa'uld pyramid ship to the _Nemesis_ while calling ahead to tell of his discovery.

...

A couple of days later, and SG-1 once again found themselves gathered in the briefing room. "Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, Doctor Jackson, Teal'c, I've decided to give the go-ahead for negotiations with the Autobots," Hammond was saying. "This is, however, pending approval from Washington, so make sure it's clear that all negotiations are tentative. Don't make any promises we might have to break."

"Thank you, sir," Jack told him. "You know we won't disappoint you."

In their preparations, they made sure to pack food, clothes, and other necessities for an extended stay. Negotiations took time, especially if there was a council or something they had to talk to besides Optimus Prime. Given the kind of luck they'd previously had with alien politics, they were mostly just hoping this wouldn't end in disaster.

When they returned to P9X-832, the formerly spacious clearing was boiling with activity, the air alive with the shrill and grating sounds of the Autobots' language. Though there were some curious glances sent their way, none of the busily working mechs seemed overly surprised to see them.

"It's a good thing we warned them about the Gate's splash," Sam said as the wormhole disappeared behind them.

They looked around at the ongoing work, noticing how the clearing had been enlarged to hold several more mechs, all setting up fortifications around the outer edges.

"Ah, so you did return." The black mech who had been injured in the battle for the Gate came over to them, apparently fully repaired.

"Yup," Jack said cheerfully. "Uh, your name was…"

"Ironhide," was the curt answer.

"Ironhide, right. Well, we'd like to talk to Optimus Prime, is he around here somewhere?"

"He's gone back to the ship. The Naquadah interferes with our signals, so I don't know when he'll be back."

"Hm. Is there any way you could tell us how to get there?"

Cold blue optics regarded them for a moment. "Wait here. I'll find you an escort."

As Ironhide stomped away, a bright yellow mech leaned close and said conspiratorially, "Don't worry about him, he's just grumpy."

They all grinned. "Thanks," Jack said, before the mech hurried off and Ironhide returned with two others in tow.

They offered their hands for SG-1 to climb into as Ironhide said "They'll take you to the base, but be careful. The Decepticons have landed their ship somewhere to the north, and I wouldn't put it past them to be lurking around here somewhere."

"Will do," Jack said, and they set off into the forest. No one paid attention to a bird circling in the sky above, let alone noticed that what seemed to be a large bird was, in fact, a relatively tiny mech with optics trained intently on the activity below.

The mechs carrying SG-1 were quiet during the trip, long strides making swift progress through the forest. A few miles into the journey, though, their escorts muttered to each other, then suddenly stopped and set them down.

"What's happening, is something wrong?" Daniel asked. They just looked at him quizzically. "Oh. I guess they don't speak English."

One mech said something, making a 'stop' gesture with his hand, then both drew their weapons and vanished into the trees.

"Um, I think that meant stay put," Daniel said helpfully.

A commotion broke out in the distance, muffled shouts and the sounds of energy weapons firing. There was an ominous low rumble and the ground shivered beneath their feet before everything went quiet. The sounds of fighting in the distance had faded. Rustling, crunching footsteps moved towards them, growing louder until a deep blue mech with a visor and a mask over its mouth stepped out of the trees.

"Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" Jack demanded of it.

The mech ignored his comment, instead aiming his very large gun at them. "You will come with me," he commanded in a chillingly resonant monotone. "Megatron has ordered your capture."

"Ah," Jack said. "Bad witch."

Unable to fight back, they quickly found themselves held tightly in the Decepticon's grip.

"You okay there, Carter?" Jack asked, squished back-to-back with her.

She wriggled a bit. "My P-90's digging into my hip, is all, sir." Her answer was a bit breathless from how firmly they were being held.

"Hey, ugly, where are we going?" Jack yelled, followed swiftly by an admonition from Daniel.

"Jack, don't _provoke_ him!"

The mech didn't break stride. "Destination: irrelevant. Silence."

"Hmph," Jack grumbled. "He's grouchier than Ironhide."

"Silence," came the repeated order. Jack, wisely, stopped talking.

They travelled for a while until they spotted a monstrously huge ship, towering high above the trees. "It's _purple_?" Jack murmured in disbelief. The one carrying them was challenged by guards at the edge of the Decepticons' camp, but then they were through, out of the trees and into the midst of a group of hostile aliens, all staring at them. They finally stopped before a cruel-looking silver-gray mech, larger even than Starscream.

"Ah, Soundwave," he said, "I see your hunt has been most successful. Our new ally has quite an interest in you humans."

"Why does that sound like singularly bad news," Daniel muttered.

The mech, who had to be Megatron, ignored him and continued. "Every time I think Starscream's finally given me enough of a reason to kill him, he does something useful for a change. Unfortunately, I don't have time to take care of you right now. You'll just have to wait, but we've been kind enough to build you your own human-sized cell." He motioned, and Soundwave carried them into the enormous Decepticon ship.

"Well, this is great," Jack complained, put out from feeling a bit like a child's doll being hauled around. "We don't even merit a cheesy villain monologue. Just a cheesy villain dismissal."

After what seemed like miles of corridors, Soundwave finally set them down in a relatively small, mostly empty room. The only things in it were a cage and a rather familiar-looking black and purple mech.

Skywarp ordered them to take off their backpacks and guns, and piled them in the corner, looking as though he'd rather be anywhere but babysitting the humans. But as they moved to step into the cell, Soundwave suddenly said, "Halt. You, follow me." He pointed at Daniel.

"Me? But why…" he was cut off when the blue mech, rather than argue, simply picked him up again. Jack tried to yell after him, but Skywarp shoved them into the cage and swung the door shut.

Of course, at first it was expected that he was being interrogated, but as the hours wore on, Jack was getting antsy. "Hey!" he yelled up at Skywarp. "Humans need to eat, you know!"

Skywarp just looked perplexed. "Can humans drink energon?" he asked.

"Uh, if that's what you guys eat, I'm gonna go with 'no'," Jack said. In a quiet aside to Sam and Teal'c, he muttered, "Y'know, I think this guy's a few Froot Loops short of a nutritious breakfast."

Sam stifled a laugh. "We have some food in our packs," she said, "if you'll let us get it."

The black mech looked uncertain. "I'll get in trouble if I let you…"

"Wouldn't you get in _more_ trouble if your prisoners all _died_ on your watch?" Jack asked.

"Er…" Skywarp said, obviously trying to think of a counter-argument.

"Let me try phrasing it a bit differently," Sam offered. "For optimum performance, humans need refueling about three times per solar cycle. Now, if we don't get that, we won't be of any use to Megatron."

The red light of Skywarp's optics flickered, looking like a surprised blink. "Oh. That often? Um." He grumbled for a moment before shoving the packs within reach. "Fine, I guess."

The packs wouldn't fit between the bars, but they could reach through and pull their rations out. And maybe one or two other things, when Skywarp wasn't looking. They ate quickly, then chatted about little things for a couple of hours, about anything that would distract them from their missing member.

That ended when Jack started waxing poetic about fishing at his cabin. Skywarp then wanted to know what fishing was, but vastly disagreed with Jack's idea of it as entertainment.

"So you sit for hours next to a large pool of water, holding a stick with a string on the end, waiting for a fish to eat the insect on the end of the string? And then you pull the fish out, wait for it to suffocate, cut it apart and eat it?"

"You have to get into the _zen_ of things. It's relaxing! You get to stretch out next to the water with a cold beer, laze about all day, and if you're lucky, you get a tasty meal at the end of it."

"But… _why_?"

"Because it's fun! Right, guys?" Jack looked to the others to back him up.

"Uh, sure, sir," Sam answered uncertainly.

"See? Relaxation, entertainment, and food all at once."

"What sort of backwards species considers that _fun_?" Skywarp asked. "Oh wait. Obviously you."

This devolved into a heated argument that ended in both man and mech sulking until the end of Skywarp's shift.

The purple mech who relieved him looked like a strange mish-mash of tank and airplane, and either didn't want to talk or didn't know English.

"What is with these guys and purple?" Jack asked no one in particular.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe purple's an intimidating color in their culture."

He tried to heckle the mech for a while, but it ignored him and eventually he gave up and sat brooding in silence.

The quiet was broken when Soundwave came back, followed by two nearly identical mechs about the size of humans. He gave them an order, and they opened the cell, heading straight for Teal'c.

"Hey! Where's Daniel? Bring him back!" Jack shouted at them.

When he tried to grab one's arm, Teal'c shook his head. "Do not make trouble, Colonel O'Neill. I will go."

Despite their fears, though, he was returned in under an hour.

"Are you all right?" Sam asked.

"Fine," Teal'c answered, "but I did not see Daniel Jackson."

"What did they want?" Jack asked, suspicious. Interrogations were hours-long affairs; they never took that short of a time unless the guy was already singing like a canary. And Jack didn't think Teal'c knew how to sing.

"They asked questions about Earth and the Stargate system, but I answered nothing. It was… worrying."

Sam looked a bit confused. "How would that be worrying? I mean, they don't have a ribbon device, and they wouldn't know how to torture us without risking killing us."

"It was worrying because they didn't seem to care what answers I gave. As though my questioning were merely for show. As though they have another source of information."

"Daniel wouldn't talk," Jack immediately defended.

"I did not say that he had. But if they do not need information from us, we must consider where they may be getting it from."

"Megatron mentioned an ally…" Sam muttered.

Jack looked grim. "An ally with information about the Stargate? If it's what I think it is…."

Sam had obviously reached the same conclusion as he had. "It very well may be."

"Aw, crap," Jack groaned. "For once in our lives, can't we find a nice new planet that's not infested with snakes?"

* * *

...moving's exhausting and this semester's classes suck. Anyway, 'til next time, thanks for reading! - Illogically

P.S. Dear ff. net, please stop eating my formatting.


	7. Chapter 6

As I said before, I'm mostly going with the G1 designs. But, since I happen to like Jazz and Ironhide's movie-verse styles, I'm pulling the artistic license card and using those in this fic. Just thought I'd mention, so no one gets too confused.

* * *

Chapter 6

Seconds ticked into minutes, which bled into hours. SG-1 still sat in the small cell, but they'd run out of things to say and now simply stared at each other, the guard, or the featureless purple walls. There was nothing they could do with their weapons in the corner and the guard watching their every move, when they couldn't find the exit if they did get past him.

Inside the Decepticon base, the lights stayed at a steady level, but it must have been getting dark outside because Jack and Sam were starting to feel tired. They'd spent nearly a full day in Decepticon custody. Jack bit back a yawn and caught Teal'c's eye. He nodded to them, and they made themselves as comfortable as possible on the floor of the cell.

After what felt like about four hours of sleep, they were startled from their rest as their radios suddenly squawked to life. Their current guard, still nameless -'didn't their mothers teach them proper manners?' Jack had quipped- glared at the static-crackling radios, then at them.

"Hey, we're not doing that. Someone else must be broadcasting on the same frequency we use," Jack defended, whether or not the mech understood.

The garbled hissing continued, and the plane-tank mech finally plucked the radios from the pile of their gear and squeezed. One quick crunch and he dropped the mangled mess of plastic and wires on the ground, now quiet.

Jack looked about ready to blow, but just then the door slid open. No one was in the hall beyond.

The guard called out. When there was no answer, he drew his weapon and stepped warily out the door. After a second, there was a startled voice and a quiet sound of crackling electricity, then a muted thump.

A small silver mech – for a given value of _small_; he was still over twice a human's height – appeared in the door, dragging the unconscious body of the guard. A small red Autobot symbol glinted on the center of his chest. "Careless of them," he said, grinning beneath the glowing blue visor that obscured his eyes, "They had your location clearly marked in the security logs _and_ they left you with a guard stupid enough to not call for backup immediately."

"Who are you- How'd you get in here?" Sam asked, amazed.

"Name's Jazz," he said cheerfully, with a mild accent. "I know you've seen me 'round, but I didn't get a chance to say hi before. And gettin' in was easy enough, it'll be gettin' back out that's the fun part. I'll show ya how on the way out," he offered. He pried open the door of the cell. "Right now, we really need to move before they notice and raise the alarm. Sentry shift changes soon, they're definitely not gonna be happy when one of 'em doesn't report in."

"But where-" Jack was cut off by a noise from the hallway. The door still stood open, anyone passing would see them.

"Quiet," Jazz shushed them. They listened intently, barely breathing, as footsteps grew louder, then faded, a passing mech traveling in the other direction. "No time to talk right now," he continued once it was gone, "Follow me."

He stepped towards the door and SG-1 scrambled to put on their packs and keep up. Jack moved into the silent hallways. "But what about…"

Jazz's visor made it hard to tell his expression, but he seemed impatient. "Quiet," he repeated at a whisper. "If anyone else passes, it'll be trouble. You don't even have internal comms. Our audios are sensitive; someone could hear you even if you whisper, and right now we can't afford to get caught because someone overheard you!" Jazz told him, barely loud enough for their ears to catch.

Glaring, Jack raised a hand and silently signed orders for Sam and Teal'c to check around the corners at the T-intersection down the hall. They crept into position cautiously, but both waved back the _all-clear _gesture.

Another quick motion, and they regrouped. "Where's. Daniel." Jack demanded, as fiercely as a whisper allowed.

Jazz looked shocked. "He's… you mean he didn't just stay on Earth?"

"No, we always go offworld in groups of four, minimum," Sam told him.

"Daniel Jackson was with us when we were captured, but he was taken elsewhere when we got to this room. We believed he was being interrogated," Teal'c added.

"He wasn't in the security logs at all," Jazz explained. "Nowhere else in the ship would be suitable for holding humans. He's not here."

The sound of two mechs talking drifted to them from the other end of the corridor, reminding them of the pressing need to escape. They set off, Jazz leading the way through the twisting, seemingly endless purple metal corridors. Spiky writing labeled the doors, Jack noticed, so the halls were probably easier to navigate when one could read it. He also noticed how smoothly and stealthily Jazz moved, with a familiar bearing… He moved like a Black Ops soldier, Jack realized, with the back of his neck prickling. He was a cheerful, charming trained killer.

Oh, he'd known on one level that they were fighters locked in a war, had watched the battle for the Gate, but seeing this sort of training really brought it home. Until now, that one little part of his mind still hadn't quite believed that the brightly-colored giant robots were deadly serious.

Jack peered around one last corner, only to see a bored-looking guard directly in front of the small side door. Jazz produced a small gun, and the dart it shot stuck to the side of the guard's neck with a snap of electricity. The guard stiffened, jerked, then slumped, and Jazz jumped forward to catch him before he hit the ground. He laid the unconscious body to one side, out of their way.

They watched him type a code into the keypad next to the door, and when it slid open he stuck his head outside and looked around. "Run for the trees," he said when he deemed it clear, and they sprinted across the open ground between the Decepticon ship and cover. Jazz followed once they were in the brush.

"Where was everyone?" Jack asked as they set off further into the woods. "The base was a lot busier when we got there."

They broke through the trees to find a rocky creek bed, a trickle of water burbling down the center. Dimly lit by the planet's small moon, it was clear enough around the creek for Jazz to walk comfortably, but instead he stepped into the open area, warned SG-1 to stand back, and shifted, pieces moving and rearranging themselves, changing shape the way Starscream had. Instead of turning into a jet, though, there sat before them what looked like a futuristic car, hovering about a foot and a half off the ground. At that moment, the wail of an alarm split the air behind them.

"Get in, come on," Jazz urged. The vehicle's doors popped open. They all squeezed into the small interior, and Jazz took off down the gently winding creekbed. "Another ship landed while the Decepticons had you," Jazz explained, voice apparently coming from the car's speakers. "A contingent of Decepticon troops was dispatched, which was why the base was so empty. What worries us is that we don't recognize the ship's style or tech."

"Was it gold and pyramid-shaped?" Jack asked grimly.

"Yes," Jazz answered. "You know whose it is?"

"Goa'uld," Jack told him. "I think we know where Danny is."

* * *

Daniel's heart sank more the further he was carried from the base. Why would the Decepticons want him out here? If they wanted information, there were easier ways to conduct an interrogation than marching someone out into the forest with half an army. And why him specifically? He had little authority. Jack or Teal'c would be the more logical choice… Starscream flashed by overhead, followed closely by Thundercracker and Skywarp, drawing Daniel's eyes upwards.

His breath caught at the sight of a shining gold ship in atmosphere, lowering itself slowly towards the planet. "How did they find us…?" Daniel breathed. They halted until the Ha'tak had safely landed, then drew closer, out of the forest and into a wide, flat meadow. They were greeted by ranks of Jaffa, as several Death Gliders rose into the air from the ship's hangars.

Starscream and the other two landed. The Decepticons fell into rank-and-file as well, and Megatron stepped forward, flanked by Soundwave and Starscream. A ramp unfolded from the Ha'tak, and from it came two Jaffa wearing unpleasantly familiar Serpent Guard helms. They turned and saluted, followed by Apophis himself in formal armor.

As Daniel opened his mouth to yell, Soundwave squeezed just hard enough to force the air out of his lungs, leaving him gasping instead. Megatron and Apophis met halfway between the two groups, Apophis somehow managing to stare Megatron in the eye despite being some couple dozen feet shorter.

"It is an honor to meet the esteemed ruler of such a powerful race," Megatron began, speaking Goa'uld. "On this day, the mighty Decepticon army hopes to see the beginning of a long and glorious relationship between our forces." They traded flowery phrases, peppered with 'power' and 'glory' and 'great alliance', as Daniel glared helplessly from Soundwave's fist. The sun was sinking towards the horizon when it sounded as though they were wrapping up, and Megatron closed with, "Lastly, as a gesture of goodwill from our race to yours, I present you with an enemy captured in battle, to do with as you will."

"'Captured in battle' my a-aah!" Daniel's protest turned into a moan of pain as Soundwave squeezed again. He contented himself with mentally listing every dirty phrase he'd ever heard Jack use, a process which lasted the entire time in which he was handed down to waiting Jaffa and manhandled into Apophis' ship.

He was held inside while Apophis presumably finished his business with Megatron, but it wasn't long before the Goa'uld lord returned.

"Daniel Jackson…" he said, drawing out the syllables, voice resonating. "It does seem that everywhere I go, I manage to find you underfoot."

"Oh, I just couldn't stay away. You know how it is, the lure of space, meeting new people, traveling to nice planets, killing snakes…Well, maybe not the last part."

"It certainly does ensure that I never grow bored."

"Oh, couldn't have that. I'm sure Jack'll agree, you know how happy he is when we're blowing up your stuff."

The Goa'uld lord's eyes glinted. "Ha. You are amusing indeed… Let's see how funny you are when you're screaming." The ribbon device on his hand glinted as he raised it towards Daniel's face.

* * *

They spent much of their trip back explaining their previous encounters with Apophis and Jack and Daniel's fight against Ra. Jazz let them ride until the creekbed got too choked with bushes and branches to drive through, but from there it was only about a mile to a rendezvous point where Bluestreak, Ironhide, and Prowl were waiting.

"It's good to see you're all safe," Bluestreak said, "At least, you look safe, but I don't know much about humans; none of you are malfunctioning, right? The Decepticons didn't damage you? Here, hop on, we'll carry you back to our base." He stopped for a moment and Jack assured him they were fine as they climbed onto the offered hands. "Except weren't there four of you when you came to rescue Dr. Petras?" he continued.

"We think they took Daniel to the other ship," Jack told him. Off to one side, Jazz was conferring with Prowl and Ironhide in a low voice.

Optimus Prime was waiting when the group returned to the base at the Stargate. "I've been informed of the situation," he said, kneeling to look at them more closely. "What do you plan to do?"

"We're going after him," was Jack's immediate response. "Can you help us?"

At this, Optimus looked concerned. "Any supplies we can provide you with are yours, of course, but if you mean soldiers… My security officers are advising against it," he said reluctantly. "We lost two good mechs when you were captured. Prowl and Red Alert are unwilling to risk more at the moment, and I'm inclined to agree. Our numbers are not enough to easily absorb many more losses."

"Oh…" Sam said. "We didn't even think to ask what had happened. We're so sorry."

Jack nodded slowly in agreement, then looked away for a moment. "We'll have to report in to the SGC, and get some new radios as well."

"Of course. Is there anything else we can help with for now?"

They declined, hoisting their packs in preparation to leave. Teal'c dialed in the code for Earth, and they stepped through almost as soon as the wormhole had stabilized, barely pausing to transmit their identification.

Hammond met them in the Gate room to hear what had happened, but his first act was to order them to get some rest, even going so far as to threaten to have Dr. Frasier sedate Jack if he couldn't sleep.

Two hours was about the limits of Jack's patience, though, and he was soon in Hammond's office again. "Why aren't any of the other teams gearing up?" he demanded. "We need to get Danny out of there as soon as possible."

"I know how you feel about this. I'm every bit as anxious as you are, believe me," Hammond soothed. "But since we decided it was worth pursuing a relationship with the Autobots, Washington's gotten involved. My hands are tied."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, refusing to understand.

Hammond sighed. "You know very well what I mean. We have to wait for them to hand back orders, but with a situation this urgent, it shouldn't be long before they respond. For now, you're cleared to return to the planet, but _do not_ approach Apophis, if it is him, unless you're attacked."

* * *

Daniel gasped, jolting upright as the lid of the sarcophagus slid back. A Jaffa grabbed him before he could make another move, dragging him back to his cell to await the next time Apophis felt like killing him.

His mind was still muddled; he knew he wasn't thinking straight. He managed to call the guard's mother something insulting out of sheer reflex, got punched in the stomach for his troubles, and collapsed onto the cell floor. He stared at the ceiling, wished he had some water, and formulated a theory that somewhere out there, there was someone with a cruel streak and a cosmic ticky-counter, laughing and clicking it up every time he died.

And below all that, one thought was constant: where were Jack and the others?

* * *

The grey walls of the base gave way to bright sunlight and two mechs waiting. Optimus's second, Prowl, approached them with a dour expression on his strict face. "Despite my better judgment and all cautions, Bumblebee has volunteered to accompany you for whatever plans you may have to rescue your companion."

Bumblebee stepped forward. "Just tell me what you need."

"Sir," Sam cautioned, "The General said-"

"I know what Hammond said," Jack snapped. "We're going. At the very least, we can see what kind of defenses he's set up here."

It was a long trek from the Autobot base to the area near the Goa'uld ship, made mostly in silence. Although Bumblebee was smaller than most of his compatriots, Jack was at first uncertain about the bright yellow mech's ability to stay hidden. But the cunning way in which he moved kept him to the thickest of the forest, so that he was every bit as concealed as SG-1.

Teal'c, in the lead, motioned them to a halt as soon as they heard noises in the brush ahead. When they peeked out from cover, though, they were shocked to see not only the Jaffa patrol they'd expected, but a Decepticon accompanying them. In confirmation of their fears, the Jaffa had the snake symbol of Apophis tattooed on their foreheads. Jack traded a glance with Bumblebee, who nodded and took aim with the weapon mounted on his arm.

The first shot clipped the Decepticon's shoulder, who then gave a roar of anger, though it did minimal damage. He fired into the trees, and the Jaffa quickly aimed and let loose a round from their staff weapons as well.

SG-1 shot back as staff blasts seared past them, and downed the four Jaffa in quick succession. But the Decepticon, although singed and dented, was coming at them, tearing into the underbrush.

Teal'c's staff, although too small to do much damage, was capable of at least singeing the mech's armor. "Try your zat!" Jack ordered, and he and Sam pulled the small weapons. As the blue bolts struck the Decepticon's hand, it began to twitch uncontrollably, and the mech pulled back with a grimace. But the twitching stopped shortly, and he lunged again.

"Retreat!" Jack called. The enraged Decepticon snarled, clawed hands reaching for him. Bumblebee took a swipe at him, distracting him long enough for SG-1 to put some distance between them. Teal'c shot off another staff blast and managed to hit a joint, and the Decepticon's elbow sparked, lower arm falling limp.

Bumblebee's covering fire seemed to convince him not to follow as they retreated, heading back out of Apophis' territory as quickly as possible.

They returned to the base at the Gate, battered and bruised, but fortunately with no casualties.

"Report," Prowl demanded immediately.

"They're working with the Decepticons. We didn't expect that so quickly, which is why I'd been pushing for this so fast," Jack practically growled.

"Goa'uld are notorious for their thirst for power. To find one willingly working with another race- it's unheard of. We thought of the possibility that they'd forge some sort of truce to get us, but… we never expected this level of cooperation. What we found was Jaffa and Decepticons patrolling together," Sam elaborated.

"I should go report to General Hammond," Jack said, and stormed off. They could see him punching buttons on the DHD with more force than strictly necessary.

Sam, Teal'c, and Bumblebee continued to discuss details of the failed recon mission, at least until Jack's startled shout broke through the ambient noise. "They _what_!? No! Tell them no way in hell!"

Sam and Teal'c jogged over. "What's wrong, sir?"

From the radio came Hammond's voice, small and tinny. "Teal'c, Major Carter, we have orders from Washington to withdraw from P9X-832. It's been declared too great a threat."

"Sir!" She protested. "We can't leave Daniel in Apophis' hands!"

"I'm afraid it's not my call anymore. You have your orders, SG-1." The radio went dead. The wormhole disintegrated a moment later.

* * *

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, first I had writer's block and then I had midterms. Fun all around! Also, if you guessed the guard in the base was Blitzwing, you get a cookie. (Yeah, like I was being subtle.) He'll be around again.

Anyway, thanks again for reading!


	8. Chapter 7

So sorry it's going so slowly! I know I've kept a lot of you waiting, and I really don't mean to. I blame my teachers this semester, most of them have a no-laptop-in-class policy. Also there are other plotbunnies breeding in my brain, demanding to at least get outlines written up.

* * *

Ch. 7

Daniel didn't even look up as the door to his cell opened, and refused to move when the Jaffa grabbed him. He only reluctantly stumbled to his feet when the guard twisted his arm, threatening to break it. Time for another round of Goa'uld Lord vs. Puny Human already.

The Jaffa twisted his arm again, and he started forward. "Move."

"Okay, okay, chill," he grumbled. He was tired and hungry, and not terribly steady on his feet. The Jaffa half-led, half-dragged him down the corridor.

As they rounded a corner, they saw up ahead another Jaffa doing something to a bank of crystals pulled out from the wall. Maintenance, Daniel guessed, but it didn't really matter. Despite the grip on his arm, he tripped as they passed, landing hard against the bank of crystals before falling to the floor. He winced as two crystals shattered on the floor next to his face. Both Jaffa cursed him, and as he tried to struggle to his feet he received a sharp kick to his ribs. He was still wheezing as he was hauled back to his feet.

Apophis was waiting in a large room, with a ribbon device on one hand and a cruel smile on his lips.

"I'm afraid I have bad news," he started, sounding as though he were trying to hold back laughter. "You've been left behind."

Daniel's head snapped up, and he stared in confusion.

"I must say, my newfound allies-" there was a hint of a mocking tone in that phrase "-were downright furious when they discovered your friends' escape. But they do at least have some common sense, and their intelligence agent got to the Stargate just in time to watch them depart. So sad, the little vermin all on his own… I even warned them about how slippery your friends – oh, but they must not have been too friendly after all, or wouldn't they be here by now?"

Daniel tried to ignore his taunting, he knew reacting wouldn't earn him anything more than extra pain. He wouldn't give the snake the satisfaction. Of course they wouldn't leave him, Apophis was just goading him to try to get a rise.

"I don't think he believes me," Apophis mused. "Let's show him." A screen flickered to life. On it, an aerial view of the Autobots' camp around the 'Gate, the forest stretching off in all directions around that. The picture quickly zoomed in and refocused, just in time to record the bright flash of the wormhole opening. Three small dark figures disappeared through the ring, and the video ended.

"Oh, the look on your face!" Apophis gloated. "So sad. Everyone leaves you… your team members, your beloved wife… This is so much more exquisite than any physical pain I could inflict. I think for now I'll just leave you to think this over… all alone, with no hope of a rescue coming."

Daniel's face twisted in rage and then despair at the mention of Sha're, and he clenched his fists tight, but didn't dare swing at Apophis. The only thing he could accomplish by doing so would be possibly exposing his only hope for escape. Apophis simply savored his churning emotions with a small smirk, finally twitching his fingers in a signal for the guard to return him to his cell.

Daniel let himself be escorted out of the room, and once he was out of sight of Apophis he silently slipped his hand into a pocket and pulled out the wickedly sharp, finger-length sliver of crystal he'd managed to palm when he tripped earlier. When the Jaffa turned his back to open the door of Daniel's cell, Daniel mustered his courage and swung with all his might, driving the crystal straight through the Jaffa's throat. He collapsed with a rasping gurgle, and Daniel saw with shock that he'd managed to pierce both the throat and right carotid artery, killing the guard quickly and quietly. But his plan had worked, better than he'd dreamed, so he grabbed the dead Jaffa's staff weapon and made for the nearest exit he could remember.

He tried to breathe quietly despite his racing heart, plastering himself against the wall, praying the Jaffa wouldn't turn this corner, wouldn't look back as they passed. Luck was with him, for once. He wasn't quite sure what kind of crazy luck had let him slip past the guards at the exits, but they were too busy staring at a Decepticon facing the other way to notice someone coming out of the ha'tak.

Once he thought he was deep enough into the forest that he wouldn't run into any patrols, he took off in the direction towards where he thought the Autobot base was, still gripping the pilfered staff weapon and no longer caring about the path of broken brush he was leaving behind.

* * *

"You have your orders, SG-1." For a moment, silence filled the clearing-turned-base. Prowl and Bumblebee watched as Jack, Sam and Teal'c simply stood, stunned.

"Sir?" Sam looked to Jack's face, stony with fury.

"What will you do, Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Return to Earth," Jack ordered. "I'm staying here."

"But sir-"

"That's an order, Carter. From the general and from me." He glared. "Don't argue."

Teal'c nodded, looking satisfied. "A good choice," he said. "I will remain with you."

"Me too, sir. We're not leaving you, and we're not letting them keep Daniel. ...But why would Washington change their minds after okaying the mission? And if they were just going to call us back, why wait until after we've gotten back to the planet?" Sam mused.

Jack's scowl eased. "Hammond. I'll bet you anything he did get the orders before we left, and 'forgot' to relay them until we were planet-side. Plausible doubt. If something were to happen, and we couldn't get back…"

The other two looked a bit happier. Jack's reputation for finding ways around orders was well-deserved.

"So it's decided, then," he said firmly.

"What is going on?" Prowl asked, a little confused at their argument.

"Let me teach you a fun human phrase," Jack told him, sighing and relenting. "It's called 'going AWOL'."

* * *

It had been days, Daniel knew that much. But when one's only measure of time was how much one hurt, it was easy to lose track of how many days. So Daniel was dismayed to see the sun setting, waning light tingeing the world fiery orange as he made his way through the brush.

"A little further… just a little further and then I'll rest for the night," he told himself, panting. His legs ached from the exertion, he'd run as far as he could before slowing. He kept pushing himself, thought, stopping only to pick some berries when he passed a bush full of them, or to drink when he found a small, clear stream, thirsty enough to no longer care about possible bacteria in the water.

As the lingering sunlight finally died, he went through a thick stand of trees, whose branches blocked out the thin light of the planet's small moon. Dark as it was, though, the fear of pursuit kept Daniel moving. He felt his way forward, past trees and bushes, stubbing his toes against rocks and roots, until he stepped on some leaves and loose dirt that gave way under him. He yelped as he slid, and went down the side of a steep hill. Trying to grab a sapling to stop his fall only lost him some skin off his palm and twisted his wrist with a painful jerk and a pop. He hit the base of the hill with a thud, and clutched his throbbing hand to his chest. Dirt and twigs showered down around him, knocked loose by his fall. He heard the dropped staff weapon slide to the ground somewhere nearby, but didn't have the strength to find it.

Still, though, he shoved himself to his feet, following the bottom of the hill until it turned into a rocky cliff. A shallow overhang looked like the best shelter he was going to find for the night, so he huddled down and tried to rest. His wrist was hot and swelling; he thought it was only sprained but it hurt too much to try to check for broken bones.

He managed to drift off to sleep for a while, though it wasn't very restful. By night, the temperature dropped enough to chill him through his BDUs. Twice he woke himself up by shifting in a way that made his injured wrist scream. And at dawn, he awoke to the sound of Jaffa voices on top of the cliff. Daniel's breath caught, and he pressed himself backwards into the depression as far as he could go, wishing he could merge with the rock.

"He couldn't have come this far," one voice complained. He sounded young, for a Jaffa. "I think we should look along the stream back there. It's an easier escape."

"Are you a god, then, Mar'tesh, to know where our quarry hides? Our lord Apophis commanded that we search in this direction, and you cannot countermand his orders." The second voice sounded much older, about Bra'tac's age, Daniel thought. A rock clattered down the side of the cliff, as though someone were peering over the side. He nearly stopped breathing altogether.

"Come, Mar'tesh," the older one said. "Let's find somewhere to climb down and check along the bottom."

"There's nothing down there," Mar'tesh answered sullenly. "You can see from here."

"And that is why you have yet to rise above your rank. For every rodent there is a hole in which to hide. If there is a hole in the cliff side, it will _not_ be visible from here." The rustling from above began to move away.

Daniel waited with bated breath for a short time after sounds from above had faded, until he couldn't stay still any longer, and bolted. He tried to cover his tracks behind him, to not leave a blatantly obvious trail for them to follow, but still put enough distance between himself and that area. His wrist hurt more with every step he took, and his stomach rumbled at him unhappily, reminding him that a handful of berries yesterday was not enough to fuel so much activity today.

But as he broke through the thick underbrush, he heard the heavy whir and thud of walking mechs. He shrank back into the bushes, praying they weren't paying attention, weren't looking for a lone human.

Though the underbrush was dense, the trees in this area were short enough that he could see, through the leaves, the two mechs' heads and shoulders above the treetops. As he tried to move deeper into cover, though, his foot caught and he fell back with a thump. One mech's head swiveled toward him. Daniel scrambled up as the mech stepped forward, despair crushing his thoughts. He though he'd gotten far enough away, thought he'd managed to hide his trail well enough… But both mechs had their hands up in a placating gesture, and the one who'd spotted him slowly moved a hand to tap the red face symbol on his collar.

"Autobots," Daniel said, and they both nodded. He went towards them and let one pick him up, mindful of his swollen wrist. Every step the mech took sent sharp pain flashing through it but Daniel was relieved enough he didn't care.

He was exhausted, so he almost didn't notice when they reached the Autobot camp, but he'd calmed down enough that the pain in his wrist was making itself known again. Until he heard Jack shouting his name. He yelled back, waving with his good hand, as the others swarmed around him. Sam dashed to get a first-aid kit as soon as she saw his wrist, but Jack staggered him with a hearty clap on his back, and Teal'c clasped his good arm, smiling broadly.

"Do you need anything?" Jack was asking. "MREs, instant coffee, anything like that?"

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep that up and I'll start calling you Colonel Mother-hen." Daniel snarked, smiling. "But yeah, food would be great. And then sleep, whenever Sam's done poking at me." But after Sam had taken a closer look at his wrist, she had bad news.

"I think you've broken a bone in there," she said, regretfully. "I can make a temporary splint, but I don't have the materials for a more permanent cast."

"Well, Dr. Frasier will take care of it. We can go back to Earth-" he stopped when he saw Jack's face. "What, what did I miss?"

"If we go, we won't be back any time soon," Jack said. "Hammond's doing what he can, but while you were gone, new orders came through. Currently we're supposed to withdraw."

"_Withdraw_? We can't just leave! We could learn so much from being here, and we can't let Apophis have access to these resources, the naqua-" it sank in, what Jack had said. "You got orders while I was gone. They wanted you to leave without me." He was stunned, looking a bit lost.

"Which is exactly why we didn't go anywhere," Jack said fiercely. "Washington can go screw itself. You know we wouldn't leave you behind. We were just… coming up with a devious plan to get by the guards."

"But… You went through the 'Gate."

"To resupply," Jack explained. "We didn't get the order until after we'd come back." He smirked. "You know Hammond. I'm pretty sure he waited until we were off-planet before relaying those orders, he knew there was no way we'd go anywhere without you."

"Thanks," Daniel said, but his smile was weak. Before Jack could say anything else, though, he changed the subject. "So how did you guys escape from the Decepticon base? Last I heard, they wanted you as hostages."

This launched Jack into a wild and exaggerated tale, and then he called Jazz over to meet Daniel as well. With his input, the stories got even less accurate, to the point where by the time they agreed on what happened, their tall tale had them fending off an entire battalion of Decepticons as they escaped.

When Daniel started to nod off, though, Jack helped him over to a tent to lie in the shade, making worried sounds every time he winced. Just as Daniel got comfortable, Jack asked seriously, "Are you going to be alright?"

Daniel laughed weakly. "I've died before, I'll die again," he said, eyes haunted. "But my arm…"

"Yes?" Jack asked, concerned.

"My arm _hurts_," he whined.

Despite his exhaustion, as his mind began to shut down, he remembered. "Jack-" Jack was instantly at his side. "They had surveillance on you, Apophis had a recording of when you went through the 'Gate."

"That's why you thought we were gone…" Jack frowned, looking suspiciously through the trees.

"No, the angle was from above. Was there a Death Glider, or did any of the plane Decepticons go by at the time?"

Jack shook his head, and dug through his pack until he found his binoculars. He peered skywards, squinting at the sunlight. After a moment, he cursed. "There is something up there. Looks like a bird, but it's flying a regular circle above the camp." He leapt up and ran to one of the mechs, who listened attentively and called over the talkative gunner who had carried Jack before, Bluestreak.

Bluestreak pulled a long rifle from his back, sighted, and fired. The bright pulse of the weapon flared upwards, but Bluestreak groaned. "Singed his tail engines, but that's all. He's gone for now, we'll have to keep an optic out in case he comes back, but this'll give us a bit more of an advantage; we should have thought to watch above, though. He was trying to blend in with the native flying animals."

"If they have more of those-" Jack started, only to be cut off.

"Oh, they do. And if one's disguised as an animal, others might be too. That's a good idea! I'd better tell Prowl to watch out for others in the woods or something." He hurried off, presumably to do just that.

In some tall bushes a good distance from the clearing, angular red eyes shone at a bit below man-height, and were gone before the Autobot guard patrols could be alerted to look for it.

* * *

Poor Daniel, he's such a torture-magnet.

Thanks for reading! Everyone who reviewed, you're wonderful!


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